Gang Wars
by TealLife
Summary: Hinata Hyuga is used to be bullied by her father and she is not surprised when his job makes her move away from a school where she has finally found happiness. She is surprised, however, when that school's gang sucks her in for a year of adventure, danger, and of course, love. Now, Hinata Hyuga is determined to help them save the school and her new family. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!
1. Hinata Hyuga

I stood in front of two iron gates with my mouth open wide. This school was huge! I pushed it open nervously and to my intense relief no one was there yet. I let out a sigh the showed in the cold air. It was a frosty October and school was reaching the middle of it's second quarter. The hard thing about this was that I was just starting here. My name is Hinata Hyuga and I have very little to look forward to in life.

My mom died when I was seven and since then my father has taken it upon himself to make me as miserable as possible. He even gave away my right to the family business to my little sister, Hanabi. Though I had never wanted to take over the business in the first place this was still a huge blow. He had basically disowned me. After my mom passed away I had grown reserved and shy at school. I developed a stutter that only got worse do to bullying. Only recently did the bullying stop, when I had entered high school. I had loved the Leaf Academy. It was where all the smart people go I guess you could say. I had made a couple of friends there and had enjoyed myself before my dad stepped in. He said his business required us all to move. So now here I am standing before my new school in the middle of the school year.

Konoha High School was well-known for its two gangs, but from what I could tell it rivaled the Academy in smarts and it had a killer athletic program. I would miss the musical studies of Leaf Academy though. Maybe if I was lucky I could find an empty class room after school to practice in.

People were now starting to walk through the iron doors. I saw many people running around. They all seemed very alien to me, though, it didn't help that one kid had a bowl cut. I retreated to the steps before the school and just sat there hoping to blend in. My plan worked flawlessly. I closed my eyes and leaned against the pillar just listening to the meaningless chatter. I only opened my eyes when there was a sudden hush. This was not normal for any high school to be this quiet. Then the girls began to squeal and the guys wolf whistle.

The twelve people who had just walked in were all very attractive. From what I could tell none of them had anything in common, though they all wore dog tags and trinkets around their necks. I could spot many different ones: a fox with a green gem and a ring, a raccoon with the right half of a heart, a heart-shaped locket, piglet, a stag, left half of a heart, a dog, a bird, a three small knives, a symbol representing a puppet, a fan, and an odd symbol that reminded me of a fan aiding a flame. I wondered briefly what they all stood for. There were seven guys and five girls.

"Love me Sasuke!" one girl shouted at a dark brooding boy.

I turned my attention to him first. 'Sasuke' had dark blue/black hair that reminded me strangely of a ducks ass, but his bangs fell into his face perfectly. He had onyx eyes and an all together pale face. He wore a long sleeve black shirt and dark blue skinny jeans with a pair of white vans.

"Matursi! Dump the emo and come party with me!" a boy shouted to a couple who were holding hands. 'Matsuri' had long brown v-cut hair down to her hips. She had chocolate-brown eyes and a tan face. She showed dimples when she smiled at the boy next to her. She wore a long sleeve white shirt with a black t-shirt over it and light skinny jeans with checkered vans. The 'emo' had messy red hair and sea green eyes. He was pale and had a tattoo of the kanji 'love' on the right side of his forehead. He wore maroon skinny jeans and a t-shirt with a fish net undershirt reaching to his mid forearm. His shoes were white converse.

"His name is Gaara you jerk!" a girl said to the boy before, punching him. I giggled quietly and connected the name to the person.

"Sakura! Ino! How about a threesome?" one guy asked. I made a face at the vulgarity and so did two of the girls. One girl, who I guessed was Sakura, had pink hair that matched the 'sakura' trees. She had pale skin and pink cheeks with jade green eyes. She wore a long sleeve red shirt with a fur hood attached to it and a white skirt with long black boots that reached just below her knees. The other girl, Ino, has long blonde hair held up in a pony tail with her bangs covering her left eye. She had baby blue eyes and a pale face. She wore a purple hoodie with a black tank top underneath and dark skinny jeans with purple converse.

"I love your jacket Kiba, do you think I could borrow it?" one girl asked battering her a eyes at a boy with red triangle tattoos on each cheek. He grinned a cheesy grin at her. Kiba had tan skin and crazy brown hair. His eyes seemed to be black slits and he had a sharp k9 tooth that peeked out below his top lip. He wore a gray shirt with a black leather jacket over it, his jeans were loose and tattered with blackhightop converse.

"I wish Temari and Shikamaru would just start dating already!" one girl said to her boyfriend who just shrugged. They were looking at two bickering people. The girl, Temari, had sandy blonde hair that was held in four spiky buns. She had tan skin and light blue eyes. She wore a light purple dress with over the shoulder sleeves . She had fish net leggings that stopped right before her knees and a red scarf wrapped around her waist holding two fans. Her shoes were black converse. The boy, Shikamaru, has black hair held in a spiky pony tail. He had brown eyes and slightly tan skin. He wore dark skinny jeans and a muddy green t-shirt with a long sleeve fish net shirt underneath. His shoes were brown converse.

"Kankuro is a bit of a bully don't you think?" said one girl to her friend.

"Who cares, he's hot!" she replied.

'Kankuro' had messy brown hair and brown eyes with tan skin. He wore a black beanie that had cat ears sticking up. He had on a purple shirt with a sign of the desert on the front and tattered jeans with black vans.

"So is it true that Neji and Tenten are going out now?" a girl asked her guy friend who shook his head and shrugged.

"I have no idea, I don't think so."he replied with disinterest.

I was surprised to see my cousin, Neji walked beside a girl with brown hair held in two buns. Neji had his long hair held in a hair tie with white eyes that matched mine. He wore a white sweat shirt with the sleeves pushed up and dark blue skinny jeans with white converse. The girl, Tenten, had pale skin and kind brown eyes. She wore a white hoodie with a pink tank top underneath, her jeans were light and skinny with black flats.

"NARUTO! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABY!" one girl yelled.

I turned red even though I wasn't the one who said it. Everyone in the group burst out laughing leaving the girl to mope. Naruto was clearly the most attractive one there. He had spiky blond hair that fell into his face slightly. He had dark blue eyes, darker than I have ever seen. He wore a red t-shirt with a long sleeve fish net shirt underneath and black skinny jeans. His shoes were gold and black high tops. The trinkets on them all interested me greatly.

I now paid more attention to them. Sasuke had the weird fan sign. Neji had the bird, Tenten the three small knives. Gaara and Matsuri had both sides of the heart, but Gaara also had a raccoon. Ino had a piglet and Sakura the locket. Shikamaru had a stag while Temari had a fan. Kiba had a dog and Kankurohad the puppet trinket. Naruto was the one with the most trinkets: a green gem, a fox, and a red diamond ring.

I stared at the ring for a long time. Red diamonds were extremely rare. Unexpectedly an image of the ring on my finger burst into mind. I blushed at the thought and stood up swiftly; hoping to go inside for some peace. Almost instantaneously I wished I would have stayed sitting or at least paid more attention to my surroundings. Here's what happened:

As I stood I automatically bumped into someone. The force of this threw me off-balance and I was about to fall. I closed my eyes tightly waiting to find my self on the bottom of the stairs, but that's not what happened. Someone grabbed my hand to keep me from going down the white marble stairs. Everything was silent. I opened my eyes nervously. I flinched internally as I saw a ring of silver and a red diamond dangled from a black string in my face. I scrambled away from him.

"Are you alright?" he asked me. I nodded quickly as the blood started to rush into my cheeks. Many whispers broke out around us making me turn a darker shade of magenta.

"I'm s-s-s sorry!" I wanted to slap myself as I felt my old habit rising up. Naruto tilted his head and looked at me curiously.

"Well, I have to go!" I said quickly and took off for the main office.

* * *

I was holding my sides and breathing hard outside of the office. My face was flushed heavily and I was about ready to die. _Wow, I really need to get back in shape_, I thought. I gave one last sigh before standing up straight. I rubbed my chest over my heart slightly, _ow_. I opened the door and heard a small bell go off. A young woman in her early thirties turned around in her rolly chair and smiled at me. She had short black hair and onyx eyes. On her lap sat- I did a double take-a pig. The pig wore a red vest and a pearl necklace, it was actually quite cute. I smiled nervously at her.

"How can I help you?" she asked name tag on the desk said Shizune.

"Um, Hi. I'm Hinata Hyuga." I said biting my lip as it came out like a question.

"The transfer, huh?" Shizune asked sympathetically. I nodded. Shizune rolled her chair again and pulled open a drawer. She pulled out a piece of paper.

"You'll have to take this survey first to decide which classes will be best for you." she told me. I looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. She smiled at me.

"Well, we separate the students to help them find people they have something in common with and what teachers will help them excel. I'll explain more after the survey." Shizune half way explained. I just nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. The survey was short luckily and only had five questions.

The Survey:

**#1. What do you do in your past time?**

**Answer**: Read, write,listen to music, and swimming.

**#2. Rate each of these four options from 1 to 5**

**Music: **5

**Sports:**3

**Academics:**5

**Volunteering: **4

**#3. What are three words you would use to describe yourself? Answer: **Musical, smart, and giving.

**#5. How would you describe life?**

**Answer: **Stressful, but fun.

I finished up the survey easily. I turned it in to Shizune who read over it easily and smiled in surprise. This made me nervous. Shizune pushed a button which I assumed was the loud-speaker.

"Would Principle Tsunade and Sakura Haruno come to the office, please. Would Sakura Haruno and Principle Tsunade please come to the office, thank you." she finished and took her finger off the button.

Now, I was even more nervous. I sat in my seat for five minutes tapping my index fingers together nervously. Soon enough though, a very beautiful blonde woman came into the room with one of the girls from earlier. Principle Tsunade walked straight to Shizune, who had now stood. Sakura smiled at me politely before joining the two adults conversation. The were whispering and I couldn't make out a word they said. Finally they all turned to me.

"Hello, Miss Hyuga. I am Principle Tsunade. I'm sorry for your long wait there was just a lot that needed to bediscussed. You have nothing to worry about though, this is all a good thing." she said to me. I nodded to show I was listening.

"The reason we have each student take this survey when coming to this school is to decide which of our four sections you will be put into. We came up with this system to help students meet people they have things in common with and to see what teachings will best help you succeeded later in life. The groups consist of the Athletes, which are on the west side of the school, the Artists who are on the east side, the Ace's who are on the south side, then there are the kids who like to help others whether emotionally or physically, we call them Fixers they are so rare we usually stick them with what we call the Specials, they are on the north side of the school. Now, the first three are pretty self-explanatory, but the last one is where things get complicated. Specials are good at everything, they are into music, sports, and they get great grades and like to help people. There are only twelve people who are currently in that area, thirteen now it seems." Tsunade finished explaining. I stared at her for a long time before speaking. I cleared my throat.

"So I'm a special?" I clarified, Tsundae nodded. I took a deep breath and let it out.

"So, why did you need to discuss it?" I asked curiously. Shizune and Tsunade both looked at each other before answering.

"Because, Miss Hyuga, usually when people are specials it's because they matched two sections, you matched three." Tsunade answered.

"Oh." I said numbly. Tsunade smiled at me.

"Don't worry though, there is actually a student here who scored all four." she whispered to me. I sat amazed for a second, but I snapped out of it quickly.

"But then, why are you here?" I asked Sakura. She laughed lightly.

"I'm a special, they need someone to show you where to go, though you won't have to worry about it today. Today you get to decorate your locker and familiarize yourself with the school, you get to go to classes tomorrow. Which is great because that means I get out of class to show you around." she smiled at me, I smiled back.

"Here, I'll go print of your schedule, locker number and get you a touch pad." Shizune said and went back over to her computer.

"Well, I have to go fill our some paper work, I'll see you girls around." Tsunade said before leaving for what I assumed was her office. I sighed and rubbed my shoulders which felt stiff with tension. Shizunecame back swiftly holding a touch pad and a piece of paper.

"Sakura will show you where to go and how to use this." she told me handing me both objects.

"Well, have a good day ladies." Shizune said before going to her desk. I stood from my chair and looked at me sympathetically.

"Here give me your schedule, I'll show you where to go." she said and she walked out of the office. I followed behind her looking at everything.

Sakura chatted as we walked and all I needed to do was given a few responses here and there. The school seemed much bigger on the inside then it did on the outside, which is an impressive feat. The walls were all covered with murals of past graduating classes. In the beginning it showed the year, 1957, the year the school opened and showed a painting of students dressed in suits and dresses. The walls were like a big time line. The pictures seemed to get better over the years and the designs changed. My favorite was from 1974 where it showed people with big hair and colorful outfits and a red sky instead of blue.

Sakura showed me the first three sections of the school first. The Athletics lockers were all designed with sports related topics. One locker was dark green and had a guy shooting a basket. Another had a girl scoring a goal in soccer. The Artists section was beautiful, if only because it had music playing in the background. Each locker was painted with great skill. One locker was an actual xylophone with the sticks in a small box made into the locker. The Ace's lockers were all magnetized. Sakura explained that this was because they all wanted to show off their test scores by pinning them on their lockers for everyone to see. One thing I noticed was that none of the lockers had locks, they had touch pads.

"The touch pads are for you to create your own lock. Some have voice recognition locks, while others use passwords." Sakura explained.

"Who came up with that?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I don't know exactly, but I know they started using it to prevent stealing, plus it makes us look cool." she said with a grin.

The Specials lockers were amazing. There were paintings everywhere, musical instruments, and even test scores being shown off. Sakura showed me her locker which was painted delicately with aSakura tree and her touch screen showed a complicated math problem.

"It changes every time so it always tests me." she said with a smile.

"So I assume you are an Artist and an Ace?" I ask. She smiles sheepishly.

"Yeah, weird combination huh, well maybe not so weird, my friend Tenten is an Athlete and an Artist." I absorbed this quietly.

"What is Neji's?" I asked. Sakura looked at me curiously.

"You know Neji?" she asked in surprise. I nod.

"He's my cousin." Sakura's facial expression turns to a one of realization.

"Oh Hyuga, right duh, he's an Athlete and an Ace." she answered. I don't respond verbally, I only nod.

"Now for your locker." she says. Sakura looks down at my schedule for the first time. Her eyes widen considerably as she looks at the schedule, but she doesn't say anything.

"Locker A-25." She says aloud and walks to the other side of the locker area. She stops in front of a boring white locker which looked even more boring because of its neighboring lockers. The one on the right had black flames and the touch screen seemed to be an eye scanner. On the other side the locker was painted black with an orange fox sitting there with red slitted eyes and a necklace with a green gem hung around its neck. The touch pad asked for blood.

"Wow right in between Sasuke and Naruto, they probably won't be too happy about that." Sakura said underneath her breath. I looked at her nervously.

"Oh don't worry I'm sure they'll be nice to you!" For some reason I doubted this, but I nodded anyway.

"Alright well, you wait here. I'm going to go get some paint for you, okay?" she asked. I nodded. She smiled at me one last time and disappeared.

By the time Sakura was back I had dozed off slightly. I had gotten up early to be here and it was starting to hit me. Sakura woke me up and laughed when I asked where I was, but answered me anyway. She had gotten a variety of paints and paint brushes before she left again.

"I need to go talk to Principle Tsunade and tell her your all set up, I'll try to be back in an hour, but if you finish early you can just go to the office." I nodded to show her I understood. She gave me one last dazzling smile and skipped away.

I stared at my blank locker for a long time before I figured out what I wanted to do with it. The two lockers next to mine both seemed so dark and honestly I wanted something that fit me, which meant it was probably going to bright. Plus there was the idea in my head the figured the bright colors would piss them both off. That's how it began at least, but soon it became very personal.

I started with black as the background. Once I was finished with that I began the rest. I painted a silver moon and dark gray branches that signified winter at midnight. Then I painted a white glowing wolf with navy blue stripes to off set it from the black. Next to the wolf I painted clothes and a guitar. To me, this symbolized a girl who had turned into a wolf, but was happy with such a thing. She symbolized me. When I was finished I waited a few minutes for it to dry before I started with the touch pad.

I chose my password to be a voice recognition and a password. So if I wanted to unlock my locker I had to sing a certain song, a song only I knew, because it was the one my mother sang to me when I was little.

"_Baby, don't you cry_

_I have you now_

_baby, don't you scream_

_your safe in my arms_

_when life is a bother_

_don't let it get you down_

_because you are loved."_

**"Password excepted." **the pad activated. I smiled sadly as I remembered the song.

"That's a beautiful song." Sakura's voice came from behind me. I turned in surprise to see her smiling at me.

"Thanks, my mom wrote it before she died." I mumbled. Sakura frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry. I lost my parents when I was young too." she said. I looked at her with sympathy. She smiled though.

"Can't let it get me down though right? My parents used to say that as long I stayed positive I could do whatever I want." she said smiling. I couldn't help, but smile too. Sakura then took it upon herself to study my painting. She was quiet for several moments. I started to fidget nervously, I wasn't used to someone judging my artwork.

"I like it. It's very deep. Are you the tiger?" she asked me. I nodded, impressed by her observation.

"I originally wanted to paint something bright and happy to offset the two dark ones next to me, but this is what came out of my brush. I can never paint what I originally plan." I told her. Sakura nodded in understanding.

"I know, I'm the same way. Not only that, but I'm a perfectionist, so you have no idea how long it took me to paint my locker. Anyway it's not like it matters, if its dark this time around, you can always change it at the beginning of next year or anytime really. A lot of people change their lockers when something big happens." she told me. I nodded.

"Anyway, since your done here what do you want to do now? We only have about an hour left, but.."Sakura trailed off. I looked at her in surprise. An hour left? It felt like I had only been here ten minutes.

"I don't know." I replied to her. She looked thoughtful before she broke out in a grew.

"How about I introduce you to the teachers?" Sakura asked.

This idea made me nervous, not because of the teachers, but because of who might be in their classes. Though, even with this fear of my peers, I felt a strange longing to join them and a fascination towards them. I wanted to know everything about them.

"Sure." I said. I would not be pushed around again.

"Awesome, let's go. This is great. I can't wait to introduce you to all my friends. They'll like you, I'm sure of it." she said excitedly. My sweat dropped slightly at this, maybe I should have said no.

* * *

We went to see our home room teacher first, who was sitting in an empty classroom reading a book. He had an eye patch over his right eye and silver hair even though he seemed quite young. He also had brown eyes. According to Sakura his name was Kakashi Sensei. She told me that our home room teachers were meant to only have their section. Apparently he got the easy job of having a home room with only thirteen kids. Then again, he was also the history teacher, so he would see everyone eventually.

Next I saw my second hour math teacher, Kurenai Sensei. She was in the middle of teaching the Athletes when we entered. None of them looked bothered to have a break, including the Sensei. She had long black hair and cool red eyes, she was a very beautiful woman.

After Kurenai Sensei we saw my third hour teacher, Asuma Sensei, who taught english. He was in the middle of teaching the Aces when we walked in. Almost instantly everyone glared at us for interrupting their lesson. I was happy to see I didn't blush and actually glared back. I was starting to act more like myself. Asuma Sensei had black hair and a beared, his whole aroma spelled of smoke.

I would have Kakashi Sensei again for history, but we didn't bother to go see him again. After history I would go to lunch with the Specials because each section had their own lunch time. After lunch I would have p.e. which scared me slightly. Hopefully I wouldn't throw up.

Gai Sensei, I was sure, is positively insane. When we entered he was teaching the Artists. Gai Sensei was full of energy, not only that, but he was loud and enthusiastic. He made me even more afraid and suddenly I became sure that I would end up throwing up in his class at some point.

After P.E. I was scheduled to have french with Ebisu Sensei. Sakura warned me before we entered the classroom about him. From what I could tell she was right. Ebisu Sensei was a snob and a pervert, which from what I can tell was the worst combination ever. He scared me more than Gai Sensei did.

My favorite class came at the end of the day, music. When we entered the class I found that there was no Sensei there at all. Sakura explained to me that Shizune was supposed to be our sensei, but she was so busy more often than not she let them be.

There were only eleven people in this class, not counting me and Sakura, who was also supposed to bein this class. They were the rest of the Specials. It made me nervous just being in the room with them. I refused to make eye contact, I would bring my courage out tomorrow, I promised my self. When we left I was very grateful.

"Well, that's all your classes. The bell is about to ring in about ten seconds, so I wish you luck. It was nice meeting you! I'll see you in home room!" Sakura was gone right after that and the bell rang. Everyone rushed out into the halls as soon as it went off, all eager to go home or hang out with friends.

I held on to the sleeves of my lavender jacket and walked with my head down toward the front of the school. I didn't linger to stair at the walls or meet people. No matter how much fun I had with Sakura, I still hated my situation. I didn't want to be here at all. I lifted my head only when I felt the cold snowy air hit my face. I breathed in its cleanness with relief before I started my walk home.

Well, it all begins tomorrow.


	2. Naruto and his Friends

I entered the school surrounded by all of my best friends. I was dead on my feet really. I only slept an hour before I had to get up and go to school. Only my responsibility to the gang made me get up and go to school. The night before I had been up and about, never standing still for more than a few seconds. Bullets flying every second and trying to keep my stomach in my body while Gaara made sharp turns trying to shake the police and the Akatsuki off was exhausting. I knew though, that if I was feeling this way Gaara must be too, after all he was our designated get away driver. Him and Matsuri were insane in their driving, but they got us all away safely.

I glanced over at Gaara and sure enough he looked like I felt. He grinned halfheartedly at me before slumping over again. Matsuri kissed his cheek and he smiled at her apologetically. I grinned at the sight. Next I turned my attention to my best friend. Sasuke looked just as down as always so I took it as a good sign. Sakura was telling him something and her face was lit with excitement and her voice dripped of happiness. I couldn't blame her for being happy at the sight of a responsive Sasuke. He will never get over his parent's death, but I think he is finally beginning to grow with it. He wasn't alone though, we all had a history of pain.

Gaara, for example had a story very similar to mine, but I thought his was worse. Growing up Gaara had lived in the Suna area. He had been hated by everyone in the town. From what I could tell Suna was a very conservative town and they didn't like the Gaara's mother had gotten pregnant more than their restricted amount to two. Not only that, but she had died giving birth to him, they thought of him as the devil. Lucky for him his siblings stuck by him even when their dad sent them here.

My mom and dad were murdered as they were leaving the hospital to take me home for the first time. As a baby I had cried my head off until one of the nurses came and saw me lying between my dead parents, red with their blood. The nurse had screamed and taken me inside to wash me off. After being their for a few days the hospital burned down. I was fine and many others were too. They blamed me for the fire. A baby! or in their minds the devil's child. So I grew up in an orphanage where no one wanted to hold me let alone adopt me. I was there til I was seven years old when I left. I had little schooling at that point, only what I had picked up from outside the classroom doors of the orphanage since they wouldn't let me in. I had grown up on the streets for the most part, until a man named Jiriaya came and helped me out. He taught me how to fight, shoot a gun, use a knife, and read. He also taught me a lot about woman, but I don't think I'll ever really take that knowledge to heart seeing how much of a pervert he is.

Then the Pervy Sage, as I called him, left. I was okay with this, a little sad, but I knew he would come back. When I entered the high school all I had to do was claim that I had been home schooled. Then they tested my knowledge and when I passed I took my survey and entered the school. See, like I said none of it was really ever that bad.

Sasuke and Sakura though. They also lost their parents, but they had been old enough to understand and they saw everything. Sasuke's whole family, which had been known as the Uchiha Mob, had been killed by Sasuke's older brother, Itachi. It was a sensitive topic that no one ever liked bringing , having grown up in a Mob, had no difficulty using a gun now with our gang. He was the expert on guns actually.

Sakura's story had been a little different. Her parents had been murdered in a robbery gone wrong. The three of them had just went to dinner and when they were walking home is when it happened. I'm pretty sure Sakura has been slightly traumatized by the whole event, but even in battle she never lets it show. Without Sakura in the gang I was positive most of us would have died by now. She is our gang's medic and an excellent fighter too. I'm not quite sure where we would be if Sasuke hadn't picked her up in eighth.

We arrived at the metal bars and all twelve of us exchanged tormented looks. Some of us were recovering from wounds, some had bad hang overs, and really none of us wanted to be here, but sinceTsunade knew of our whole operation we had to show up or she would worry.

"Do we have to go?" Ino wined. We all sighed in agreement, but none of us answered her.

"We should go, Lady Tsunade will worry about us." Sakura said biting her lip.

"So we have someone tell her we're taking a day off, easy." Kiba said with a shrug, Akamaru, his dog whom he brought everywhere barked in agreement. I remember when the dog had been just a puppy andKiba had carried him around on his head.

"Not so easy. I heard their was a new kid coming today and she might be Special." Sakura said. Nejisnorted.

"The new kid is my cousin and I doubt she'll be special." he said with only slight bitterness. I sighed and everyone turned to look at me. Sometimes it was annoying that I had to decided everything. Then again, I could always give that position to Gaara or Sasuke.

"We'll go, but we can skip out for lunch if the new kid isn't special. If she is who knows who Tsunadewould call to help her." I decided rubbing my eyes with my fists. Though I didn't see it I could tell they were nodding.

"Alright." They all sighed in unison before grinning at each other in amusement. I chuckled slightly and pushed the gate open. The school yard chatting came to a hush within seconds. We all spared one last glance to each other before continuing in farther. Gaara grabbed Matsuri's hand and Sasuke, though no one else could see it, put his hand on the small of Sakura's back. I fought off my grin.

Then the yelling began. I grimaced at the sound and quickly felt a headache coming on. Most of the time I did my best to ignore everyone around me until I got to my locker section.

"NARUTO! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABY!" one girl shouted breaking through my wall. I burst out laughing along with the rest of my friends. _That _was a new one. I couldn't say it was the first time some girl jumped me or said she wanted me, but this girl had been so direct. Sasuke and I made eye contact and shared our amusement. Sasuke was jumped just as often, though the girl was typically fought off bySakura.

I shook my head slightly and smiled as I made my way up the stone stairs. At the top of the stairs, I noticed sat a girl. She was looking at us like everyone else, she was staring at the floor before she stood up. She stood so swiftly it surprised me. She bumped into me and I heard her gasp in surprise. She took a half step backwards and was about to fall down the stairs. She closed her eyes tightly and I grabbed her hand to keep her from going off the edge.

She opened her eyes and looked at me in shock as she stared at my mothers ring that hung around my neck. She stumbled back from me and stared at me. I turned my head and looked at her curiously. Then she took off. I was star struck by how fast she was. Almost automatically I thought, Athlete, but no. She had stared at my mother's ring, barely anyone noticed it. Maybe an Ace, they are pretty meticulous, or an Artist, they love beautiful things. Then it hit me who she must be, the new girl.

"That your cousin Neji?" I asked glancing at him as we continued to walk again. He looked slightly surprised by what just happened.

"Yeah, but she seems a lot different now." he said. We all looked at him in curiosity.

"She used to be really shy, since her mom died. She had been bullied in elementary school last I saw her, but then again she had a pretty fierce reputation in middle school, from what I've heard, but I never believed it. She did see tough though."

"She ran away though." Kiba scoffed. I shook my head.

"Don't judge a book by its cover. You show know that by now." I said giving him a look. He flushed and stayed quiet for the rest of the walk.

* * *

"Just sit, talk, I don't really care." Kakashi said pulling out his book. I snorted and turned to my leaned in from her spot on top of the desk trying to listen better.

"Well, a little birdie told me that the Akatsuki have set up a new residence." Tenten said. I rose my eyebrow.

"That little birdie wouldn't happen to be Jugo?" I asked with amusement. Tenten shot me an annoyed look and I laughed.

"Sorry sorry, so where have they set up?" I asked leaning forward.

"Well me and Temari heard..." Tenten began before being interrupted my the loud-speaker.

"_Will Priniciple Tsundae and Sakura Haruno come to the office please. Will Sakura Haruno and PrincipleTsundae please come to the office, thank you."_

We all exchanged looks as Sakura jumped off the desk and took her stuff.

"She _is _a Special." Ino said excitedly.

"Looks like it." Shikamaru said yawning.

"Your so lazy!" Temari scolded.

"Oh, shut up. Troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered. Temari's temper flared up automatically.

"What did you say?" she demanded. I sighed.

"Calm down will you guys?" I asked wearily. They shot each other one last glare and turned away.

"Oh come on, Naruto, it's just a lovers quarrel." Kiba said mockingly. Temari hit him over the head making him wince while all of us laughed.

"Well this has been fun guys, but I need to be going now." Sakura said slinging her bag over her shoulder. She waved goodbye to us happily and left.

"Ug! Sakura is so lucky! I wish I could get out of class." Kankuro groaned.

"Why don't you?" Matsuri said grinning at him. He looked at her in surprise and a dawning expression came on to his face before disappointment washed over it.

"Because I have a science and history test." he said glumly. Kiba sat bolt up from leaning back in his chair letting it fall to the floor with a thud.

"We have a history test?" he asked horrified. We all stared at him in amazement and irritation.

"Yes we do." Kakashi said licking his fingers and turned a page of his book.

"How is it," Ino wondered, "that you remember every name of every girl in the school, but you can't remember that we have a test after we've been warned a week beforehand." Kiba shrugged.

"I only remember the useful things." By now I could sense Ino's temper beginning to hit its peak. Sasukemust have too.

"Alright, alright calm down." Sasuke said in irritation.

"Make me, tough guy." Kiba said. I shot him a warning look, but he ignored me. Ino, all anger forgotten now, looked back and forth between them nervously. I sighed and sat back in my chair. In all honesty I was hoping they would fight sometime. I knew it wouldn't turn into anything serious, so I figured there wasn't a problem.

"Alright. Friday at the Funhouse." Kiba challenged. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but I knew he wanted to get in a proper fist fight for once.

"Deal." he said.

"Sakura's going to be out for blood when she hears of this." Gaara chuckled and we all laughed at the looks on Sasuke and Kiba's faces. Suddenly the bell went off and we all took off for the door.

I loved walking through the halls of Konoha High. Everything was so colorful. I couldn't wait to leave my mark somewhere. I would spend the day suspended from the ceiling painting the giant white canvas to my heart's content and at the end of my four years I will removed my locker door, as tradition goes, and take it with me leaving the school to replace it like they do for all the previous students.

I sighed in content and that though and put my head phones in. Music has always soothed me, but when your part Artist I guess it would. I headed to math. In all honesty I hate school, it was just a necessity to keep a clean cover. I sighed again in irritation as I walked through the hallways. Some of the fangirls batted their eyelashes at me while the guys glared. I pondered the thought of starting a fight, but the poor bastard wouldn't stand a chance.

I had my hands in my pockets an I was humming, the picture of calm, but I was about ready to rip some bodies head off. If I was lucky enough we'd be playing dodgeball again in P.E. Where I could release some of my anger. Or maybe I would ask Gai Sensei to allow me to box in the other room with Sasuke, he wouldn't complain.

Suddenly my headphones were being yanked out of my ears by a grinning Matsuri. Gaara wasn't around, but I knew that was because he had to go to Engineering, his favorite class, and by far what he was best at. Gaara was lucky enough to be an Ace and a Fixer, like me. This was the perfect combination for someone who wants to become an Engineer and for a get away driver.

"Are you actually going to pay attention today? We don't need your grades slipping just because you feel like slacking!" Matsuri said sternly. I laughed lightheartedly and took my headphones back before wrapping them around my iPod. Putting my life away, I once again let out a big breath. Matsuri's eyes softened.

"Are you okay? she asked, but not before looking around for eavesdroppers. I nodded, then shook my head, before shrugging.

"It's coming up." was all I said. The girl who was like a little sister nodded sympathetically.

"You know why don't we actually do something for your birthday? Nothing extreme! Just cake at theFunhouse? All of us?" she suggested. I made a face as I though about celebrating my birthday. Not really sure what their was to celebrate about getting older, not to mention if it's the day before the anniversary of your parent's death.

"Please? You know Sakura was going to throw you a surprise party anyway." she insisted. I gave another loud sigh a gave a stiff nod. Matsuri shouted out in glee, I winced, but I took comfort in knowing it wasn't as loud as Sakura or Ino would have shouted.

"Settle down class!" Kurenai Sensei smiled at us all before asking for our homework.

"Here we go." I said under my breath.

* * *

It was a miracle to finally get to P.E. I was lucky enough to have gym right before music, so the rest of the day was always cake. I went with my plan and asked Gai Sensei if Sasuke and I could go box and he said yes, well actually he said,

"YES! THAT IS THE KIND OF YOUTHFUL SPIRIT I WANT TO SEE!" I was pretty sure I was deaf in my left ear.

Here's the thing. Sasuke and I used to hate each other. He had always been the cool kid that everyone loved and I was the opposite. I guess I deserved the title of a loser back then because I was just plain annoying, but it was also the prejudice against me. Anyway, I had been jealous of how cool he was and of how good he was with girls, even though he was never really interested in any of them. We pretty much did our best to ruin elementary school for each other, but it was always awful.

Sasuke's family had been killed in the third grade and he went from a happy kid to a seriously disturbed child. He remained that way until middle school, but a lot changed in the last two years of elementary school. Sasuke and I's hatred for the world was deeply intertwined and though we continued our rivalry all of fourth grade somewhere in fifth grade we became friends.

In middle school I became more resigned and Sasuke opened up. I was still the class clown though, andSasuke would always remain calm and collected. We balanced each other out. In eight grade we finally became seriously interested in the other species known as women. It may be hard believe, but I had dated Sakura all through eighth grade and Sasuke and Ino went steady as well. We all broke up over the summer and I think that's where things changed. Sakura became a sister to me and Ino was the same with Sasuke. Life changed between middle school and high school.

Suddenly, in the last month of high school, I woke up one morning to find everyone looking at me differently. I felt the same, but apparently in the eyes of every girl I became 'worthy'. Who would have thought that the annoying dork from middle school became the new Mr. Popular right next to Sasuke. It was still mind-boggling and I didn't even try to contemplate it in fear that my mind would explode. I hadn't realized girls were so complicated until then. Though, I couldn't even begin to explain how Sasukeand I had begun the mess we are living in. The Gang Wars were legendary, but only a select few knew about them.

The simplest part of it were our individual parts. Gaara and Matsuri were the get away drivers. Gaara is an original member of the gang along with Sasuke, Sakura, Ino and I. He can drive anything under the sun and be hitting a hundred miles an hour in the short time of four minutes and twenty-nine seconds (he likes to try to beat that record all the time). Sasuke and I met Gaara in sixth grade, he had been a bully in people's eyes, but Sasuke and I saw him for what he really was: a victim. He was the same as us.

Gaara started dating Matsuri freshman year. This had been a complication originally. Sakura and Ino had to train her from the ground up. She had been hopeless, she wasn't very strong like Sakura or quick like Ino, she didn't like holding guns like Sasuke or specialize in quick kills, like me. We didn't know what to do with her and we almost told Gaara that she wasn't safe around us and that it was better to let her go, but then she got behind the wheel. Though Matsuri didn't have Gaara's gift for starting and going under ten minutes she could rob any car she set her eyes on and knew every short cut in, well, if I could say the world without it sounding like an exaggeration, that's what I would say. Then we taught her to at least be able to _use_ a gun and she was ready.

Sakura and Ino are both medics. Everyone in the gang owed their lives to them. Not only are they great at removing bullets and sowing us up, but they are fighters. Sakura has monstrous strength and could kill with one correctly placed punch. Ino is quick, not many people could land a hit on her, but she typically didn't have the strength to back her punches so she became a spy. It seems strange, but Ino, though the most loudmouthed girl in the world, could blend in anywhere. Her observation skills were only matched by Sakura.

Sasuke had grown up knowing how to use a gun because of his family. This was a skill well valued, not only that though, Sasuke treasured his guns. He had aim better than any of us. His eyes seemed to see everything without truly focusing in on anything. He was born to shoot a gun. Without his gun, Sasuke is also a great fist fighter. He's smart enough, quick enough, and strong enough to hold his on in every fight he gets into.

Shikamaru and Temari came in around the same time. Shikamaru was always going to be useful, he had a tactical mind and could see a hundred situations ahead of time to form the perfect plan all we had to do was teach him how to use a knife and get him some brass knuckles.

Temari had always been in the background of our gang as she is Gaara's sister. She hadn't really joined on her own, she was pushed in. Temari had been on her way home from gymnastics when the Akatsukijumped her thinking to hold one over on us and on Gaara. Though I don't think they expected Temari to put up a fight. Temari had been in gymnastics since she was five and had always carried pepper spray, she knew how to fight. She had held on until we got there. It was then that we decided we would have to train her properly. Temari is the one who picked out her own weapons. She had two fans she always carried with her. The fans looked flimsy, but they are Temari's special design. The fans are made of thin metal that are as sharp as any knife, maybe sharper. She was deadly.

Kankuro had joined shortly after Temari stating firmly that he would not be shown up by his younger siblings, but we all knew he was just being protective. We weren't quite sure what Kankuro could do at first. We could see the potential, but we didn't know what to use it on. It came to us one day when we saw Kankuro tie a poor sixth grader to the monkey bars in a puppet like fashion. We gave Kankuro wire and with it he could capture, fight, and prank people. It was simple, but deadly.

Kiba had been an old friend from elementary school. We used to always slack off together and ditch once we were old enough to realize we could. For some reason Kiba had a freakishly strong nose. It was his blessing and curse. Kiba and his dog Akamaru worked together. Not many people realize a dog can do much damage, but I think they forget what police dogs can do, it's basically the same thing. Kiba is a fist fighter, a little like me, but he prefers to drag out his fights.

Tenten and Neji took a lot of perusing to get to join. Tenten was a little less stiff than Neji, but only because of the weapons. Tenten had always been obsessed with weapons in middle school and was always getting busted for having a knife on her, what they didn't know was that she usually had a gun too, but she never got caught with that. Trained and ready to go, we just needed her to join. She was pretty willing, but with Neji as her best friend she didn't want to lose him.

Neji joined after I beat him up. It seems strange, but sometimes people just need a good smack to the head. Neji had been in martial arts since he could walk so we didn't have to train him much and not only that, but he was smart.

Our group head been very awkward at first. We only had one thing in common and that was pain. All of us had something we wanted to over come. For Sakura, Sasuke, and me it was the death of both our parents. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had an abusive father and no mother. Shikamaru had been kidnapped when he was little. Ino had been rapped at school for a year before anyone found out. Neji'smom had left his family and then his father died. Tenten didn't have any family, not even a last name. Matsuri's mother had killed herself after her father left. Kiba had been bullied and hated for his weird nose with only his dog to stand by him. We all had been angry and sad, with the small and little problems and so we stood together against the Akatsuki.

"Hey, dobe. You paying attention?" Sasuke asked from across the mat. I still had my arms up and had stood there like an idiot for five minutes while Sasuke was leaned back, relaxing. I dropped my hands and sighed. I was glad we were alone, it made it easier.

"I was just thinking about the gang." I said sitting down cross-legged on the mat. Sasuke followed suit.

"What about it? he asked curiously.

"Just are rolls and our past." Sasuke didn't need any more of an explanation. He just knew. Sasuke and me had always been like that even when he hated each other. We were like brothers. The two of us sat in a content silence for a few moments longer before we heard Gai Sensei's voice come closer. We winced in unison and stood.

"Who's turn is it to get punched?" he asked. Ever since we started training like this, when ever we needed a break we just sat an talked, but there was a problem. We needed to look like we had fought, so we came up with a plan. Every time we thought we heard someone coming we would just punch the other one. We made sure to take turns though and if we couldn't figure out who's turn it was we did rock paper scissors.

"Yours." I smirked. He grimaced slightly and waited. Right on time as the door slid open my fist hit Sasuke's jaw and he went down. Gai Sensei clapped and shook his head.

"Amazing! Every time I come in here I see one throw the last punch and I say to myself 'he is definitely the best out of the two' then the other ends it next time and evens it all out!" Sasuke and I exchanged looks of amusement, but didn't say anything.

"Well go get dressed, class is dismissed." Gai Sensei said and walked away. I reached my hand out and helped Sasuke up. The side of his face was already beginning to swell. I winced slightly.

"Man, Sakura will be pissed at me." I groaned. Sasuke chuckled slightly as we started walking an I shot him a glare.

"Don't laugh! You don't even know what it's like to be hit by her." I shuddered. We entered the locker room and changed quickly not communicating at all with the exception of laughing our asses off when Rock Lee, an Athlete tripped trying to get his pants back on.

"He does that almost every time and it's still funny!" I said shaking my head as we walked away from the locker room towards music. Sasuke gave a slightly evil laugh making me bust up more.

"Oh Lee, he's so strong, but so stupid sometimes." I said. Sasuke glanced at me with amusement in her eyes.

"Reminds me of someone else, but besides that he is great back up for the gang." he said. I shot him another glare for the beginning of his sentence, but then nodded in agreement with him the end of it.

The main part of the gang was a total of twelve people, me, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Gaara, Matsuri,Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, Tenten, Kiba, and Neji, but their were a few outside of the gang that were good friends and great back up. Rock Lee was one of these people. These were the people that we had who were Athletes: Rock Lee, Choji Akamitchi, a weight lifter, Jugo, who was a wrestler, Suigetsu, who was swimmer, and Haku, who was into knife throwing. From the Artists we have: Shino Aburmae, who does a lot of things with bugs, Sai who paints, Tayuya who played the flute, and Anko who played guitar. We weren't very fond of Aces though, they were too stuck up, and could give us all away.

"It's true." I agree off handily as we walk into music. Everyone else is already there and luckily Sakuraisn't done dealing with the new girl yet, so I'm safe from her wrath for a little longer. Sasuke, seeing me relax, smirks at me.

"Don't make me hit you again." I tell him under my breath, halfheartedly, he just chuckles.

I felt like I was finally in my element. I only nodded to the others, which they understood automatically. They all swerved in their seats to watch me as I went for my guitar.

"What you singing today?" Ino asked. I paused searching for an answer.

_**"Numb**_, by Usher**"**I tell them before I start play.

_"They say life is a battlefield_  
_I say bring it on_  
_If you wanna know how I feel_  
_Live it till it's gone_  
_I'm just saying that what don't kill, only makes you strong_  
_If you don't recognize what is real_  
_Then forever is a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long Time_"

It was almost like singing our life story. All of us knew pain, but we had saved each other. We were all a family together. A unit that wasn't going to be broken.

_"Some things never change here we go again_  
_Feel like I'm losing my mind_  
_Shake it off, let it go, I don't care any more_  
_Just go numb_  
_You never know until you let go_  
_Let's go numb_"

_"I can feel you now_"

_"Keep on doing the same old thing_  
_And you expecting change_  
_Well is that really insanity_  
_Or just a losers' game_  
_I only trust in the things I feel_  
_Some may say that's strange_  
_You better recognize what is real_  
_Cause forever is a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time_"

_"Some things never change, here we go again_  
_Feel like I'm losing my mind_  
_Shake it off, let it go, I don't care any more_  
_Let's go numb_  
_You never know until you let go_  
_We all go numb_"

The guys joined in with ease to complete the song by adding in a background. I knew not all of them were that into music like I was so I appreciated it even more.  
_"I can feel you now_"  
_(Numb)_  
_(Numb)_

_"I can feel you now_  
_I can feel you now_  
_I can feel you now_"

_"But you can't feel it do ya?_"  
_(Numb)_

_"Shake it off, let it go, I don't care anymore_"  
_(Numb)_

_"I can feel you now_"  
_(Numb)_  
_"I can feel you now_"  
_(Numb)_  
_"I can feel you now_"

_"Can you feel it?"_

I took a breath and sat down the guitar. We all acted like nothing had happened, almost like a musical, but better because it _did _happen. I went and sat down in my chair between Sasuke and Gaara, the one next to the window. Everything was white on the outside, angelic almost.

"Are you okay, dude? You seem really off today." Tenten said leaning towards. I nodded then shook my head, contradicting my self. I rubbed my eyes before looking at everyone. They were all watching me, waiting.

"Somethings coming." Is all I said. Right then the door opened to reveal Sakura and the new girl.

I had forgotten what the girl had looked like from the time in the morning. She had long dark hair that was bluish black. Her skin was pale and her eyes were lavender, like Neji's. She had curves in all the right place and she held herself with confidence, but I could sense that confidence faulter as she looked at all of us and she didn't make eye contact. Suddenly, my eyes narrowed and I was observing her. She had petite hands, but I was sure she could hold a gun if trained. She looked fit enough to run quickly and to hold her own in a fight, and I could tell just by the way she held her shoulders and wiggled her hands that she has thrown a punch that hit its mark. Interesting.

Sakura's eyes traveled over all of us as well. Her eyes paused on Sasuke for a moment, as they always did. Her medically trained eyes landed on his bruise and her green eyes narrowed. She shot my a warning glare before leaving the room with the new girl. Not five minutes after they left the bell rang and we all left for the Funhouse.


	3. Reaching for the Stars

I chose to walk home instead of calling my father. Though it was very cold out I thought it better to tough out the snow then sit in a silent car with my dear old daddy. I barely made it out of the parking lot before a voice called out to me.

"Hey Hinata!" Sakura's clear voice made me jump as I wasn't expecting anyone to try to speak to me. I turned my head and saw her leaning across an annoyed Naruto to get closer to me. The car was beautiful; it was a gold Lamborghini. I imagined myself hoping into it a stepping on the gas and just flying. I would _kill_ to drive a car like that.

"Um, hey Sakura." I said. I gave myself a mental high-five for not stuttering in front of smiles at me and puts a piece of hair behind her back.

"Do you need a ride?" she asked. I shake my head before even fully processing what she said.

"I'm alright Sakura, I like walking and I don't want to inconvenience you."I told her. This time she shook her head, "It's not a bother." Naruto mumbled under his breath causing Sakura to shoot him a look.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." I tell her, this time I add a note of finality. Sakura frowns slightly, but agrees.

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow Hinata! Get home safe." she says and smiles and me one last time. I nod and smile to.

"You too." but the car is already half way down the street. Behind it is a black camaro, in the driver's seat is Sasuke with Ino in the passenger side. Ino was turned around and seemed to be arguing with someone, the windows were tinted so I had to guess who was in the back seat. Based on the form of a relaxed figure with messy hair I guessed Kiba. behind them were two other cars; an old red mustang and a silver Ferrari. Driving the mustang was Shikamaru with Temari in the passenger seat and Gaara and Kankuro with Matsuri squeezed between them in the back. In the driver's seat of the Ferrari was my very own cousin Neji. Next to him was Tenten. They all drove quickly and in the same direction, so I figured they had the same destination as well and they were all anxious.

I just sighed watching them all go by. Then I tightened my hood around me and continued as I had before.

It's about four when I arrive home. I head straight to the kitchen.

"Where's dad?" I ask Hanabi who is sitting at the table coloring. She doesn't look up when she answers me.

"He's in his office." I nod my head in reply and turn towards the fridge pulling out the milk. I take a glass from the cupboard and pour my milk. Putting it away I sip on my milk.

"How was school?" I ask my little sister. She just shrugs. I give a small sigh. Hanabi and I used to bereally close before our mother died. Our whole family has been ripped apart since her death, but we don't ever speak of it. If her name even slips from my mouth I could be hit.

I wash my empty cup in the sink and put it in the dish washer before I go up the stairs to my room. The house is a classic Victorian house. The stairs are spiraled and wooden. When we first moved in I was afraid I was going to fall down the stairs, but it was either this or the window if I wanted to get out of the house and away from my family.

My room was big, I could at least admit to that. I have a queen sized bed with a rounded mattress in the corner of my room with white bedding. The floor is a dark wood. I have a walk in closet as well. My favorite part of this room though, is something my father didn't even know about. In the closet there is a small door that you have to crawl through. Once you are through you walk up more stairs and it leads you to the secret attic.

The attic was my favorite 'room' in the whole house. I was able to decorate it using the remains of my last pay check from working at the Coffee Hut around the corner from my old house. I left the floor wooden, but had cleaned it thoroughly. I painted the walls a midnight blue with stars that lit up in the dark. On the right wall there was a single window that was about the size of a large book. I had a light blue couch on the right side and a hidden cabinet on the left. The cabinet was very large, so it was an impressive feat sneaking it into the house and then trying to hide it among the small space of the attic, but I did it. Now the cabinet could only be seen if pointed out. Sadly, I have yet to put anything in to it. When I got the cabinet I knew it would be important to hide, though I am still not sure why. So, I leave it empty because only something that _needs _to never be seen will be kept in its drawers.

I inhaled heavily through my nose taking in the old wood smell. I sneezed almost immediately and just giggled. When I finished my chuckling I fell on to the couch with a sigh. I put my hands behind my head and stared at the dark ceiling covered in my favorite constellations. All my life I have enjoyed star watching, but since the death of my mother I haven't been able to bring my self to look at the real ones, and now I reached my hands up towards them like a child reaching for their mother. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew, this is exactly what I was doing.

* * *

The noise of the Funhouse was reaching the point if intolerable. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples trying to block everything out. I wasn't usually this stressed out, but that new girl had really punched a whole in everything.

See, not many people know this, but the test the school makes us take is rigged. Tsundae will only make you become a Special if she thinks you have, how should I put it? Unique potential. This basically means that if you become a Special you are becoming one of us. If the leader agrees to it that is. Normally we don't get a lot of Specials, because even if the test wasn't rigged most people tend to always lean to one of the five choices more than they do the rest. Since this is true, we recruit the others. Lee for example. This new girl though...

I gave a loud frustrated half sigh half groan. The loudness of the place was _really _starting to tick me off, but I knew I couldn't leave. We had things to talk about, plus I was afraid that if I left all hell would break loose and they would destroy the place. Trust me, it has happened before.._twice!_

"Alright! Everyone shut up!" I call out. No one listens to me. Finally I stand and walk over to whereShikamaru, Kiba, and Kankuro were playing video games at a way to high volume. I grabbed the remote and turned off the t.v. ignoring their cries of indignation. Then calmly I walked over to Ino who was talking on the phone. I held out my hand and she closed her phone, hanging up on whoever and handed her phone over guiltily. I walked towards Sakura then, but first hit Sasuke on the head to wake him from his nap on the couch. He glared at me, but I just grinned at him in response. I snapped in Sakura's face and she looked up startled from her book before calmly marking her page and setting it down. Temari and Tenten leaned casually against the counter looking relieved for the silence. Neji looked completely indifferent, as usual. I sighed and looked around.

"Where is Gaara and Matsuri?" I asked. They all shrugged. I had a pretty good idea... I grinned evilly and beckoned for everyone to follow me up the stairs. They all grinned with me.

This wasn't the first time we've had to break up Matsuri and Gaara's little "sessions" but as we get older the more and more embarrassing it becomes for them and more effective for us. So none of us felt any guilt for what we did next.

With a loud bang I kicked open the door and we all ran in. Matsuri screamed in surprise and Gaaraglared.

"Up!" I shouted to let them know I was serious. Matsuri tucked Gaara's covers up to her chin and stared at us wide-eyed.

"Are you going to leave first at least?" Oh Matsuri, sweet sad little Matsuri. Do we ever leave when we barge in? Gaara already knowing the answer just stood up in his boxers and proceeded to get jeans on.

"It's not like we haven't all seen it." Ino called. Matsuri sighed and mumbled.

"Thought I'd at least ask.." she said. She then stood up naked and went forward to get dressed. None of us even batted an eyelash. We were all practically family plus, she was Gaara's. Even Kiba, the resident pervert wouldn't dare look at her like that, whether Gaara was there or not. When Matsuri was dressed in a yellow sundress we all left for down stairs. Gaara just walked away with his jeans and no shirt. All of guys were like that sometimes, even the more comfortable girls (Sakura, Ino, and Temari) would walk around half-naked.

Once downstairs we all lounged on the maroon couches. The living room had three couched set up in a half square with the middle facing the flat screen. Most wouldn't think us orphans had any money, but Sasuke had inherited all the Uchiha fortune and was basically a billionaire. Sasuke hated the money, a constant reminder of his dead family and often spent it on us, his new family. That's how we can afford such nice stuff, such as the cars and house.

The house hadn't been much when Sasuke and I had first seen it. It was old and falling apart, but we could tell that it had been nice. So using his money for the first time, Sasuke bought it and we refurbished it together, finally leaving the streets. The house had been one of three. As I had mentioned earlier, the other two had been destroyed. We had bought three house for safety reasons. We refurbished all of them, but this one had been our favorite, but because it was so big we decided to stay in the other two first. The first house was discovered by the Akatsuki. This was heartbreaking for all of us. It had been the beginning of the gang and Sakura and Ino had cried for days. The second was burned down and since then we've learner to NEVER let Kiba cook again.

So far, this house has been safe. Maybe it was because it's not as..discreet as our past houses. Thefunhouse is three stories not counting the basement or attic. Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino had the top floor along with a loft. I had the attic to myself. The middle had Gaara, Neji, Kankuro, Kiba, and Tenten. The basement held Shikamaru, Temari, and Matsuri had the basement along with a spare room and a second living room. The whole floor between the second story and the basement was just the first living room, the kitchen, and a huge sparing room. All the space made it not seem so crowded.

"So, whats up?" Kankuro was the first to interrupt my silence. By the way all the others looked at me I could tell I had stared at nothing for a long while. I shook my head trying to clear my head.

"Sorry." I said then paused again. My mind felt _empty_. I couldn't think straight. Luckily Sakura took over for me after giving me a worried glance.

"Alright, well thanks to the knowledge Tenten and Temari gave us from Jugo, we now know where the Akatsuki is hiding out." Sakura paused to let everyone cheer. Kiba even went to the kitchen to get drinks. I took a beer from him and sipped it barely paying attention to what I was doing...it was happening again, I thought briefly. Though, it always does the week before _that _day.

"Right well, tomorrow we will assign shift to go drive by there to spy on them. Which means Ino, we will once again be needing your mastery disguise and spy skills." Sakura told her best friend who smiled and nodded raising her glass of wine to her with a wink.

"For now, though we can just celebrate, but try not to get hung over because we do have school tomorrow and I'm not in the mood to brew something to cure it." Sakura warned everyone with her medical glare. Everyone cheered again and took swigs of what ever they were drinking. I stood up and began to walk up the stairs. I felt a warm hand grasp mine and I turned around to see Sakurawho was frowning at me.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly. I sighed, looking in to her concerned eyes. Sakura had been like this when we were dating too, I always appreciated how much she cared, but some things couldn't be expressed in words.

"I'll be better after I sleep Sakura." I smiled at her. She smiled back automatically, but I could still see the worry in her eyes. I smiled again and headed up the stairs.

When I got to my room I laid down on my bed instantly and looked up. I changed my ceiling to a special thick glass so I was able to see the sky without worrying of it cracking or failing in any way. I looked up at the late evening sky and sighed once again.

"_Fighting to hold on tight_  
_Yearning a breath of life_  
_I cannot tell if I'm alive but_  
_Feels like a suffocating diver_  
_Staring with endless sight_  
_Into a darkened night_  
_Taking in one last breath I dive into the unknown_  
_To the endlessness I go"_

I mumbled the chores to myself and reach my hand up to the sky, reaching for everything I have lost.


	4. Staring is Rude

I woke up to the sound of laughing and loud music. I growled and turned over to look at the clock. It was ten past two. I rolled back over and stared at the sky above me. It was black and dotted with stars. I threw myself up and walked out the door in just my boxers. Usually I took the time to get dressed, not wanting anyone to look at me, but I didn't really care right now. I was too tired.

Instead of climbing down the latter I jumped down into Sasuke's room; the only way out of the attic. I looked towards Sasuke's bed as saw him staring at me with a blank expression. He was sitting up with hisback against the wall with headphones over his ears. He was as dressed as I was. He took off his headphones calmly.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked. I went an sat next to him.

"More like they woke me up. Have you slept at all?" I asked him. By the darkness under his eyes I could tell he hasn't. He shook his head.

"I've been trying to sleep for three hours, not even my music is helping." he said with slight desperation, that I knew only I would recognize by now. I nodded sympathetically.

"Why haven't you gone down to tell them to shut up?" I ask, but I already know that he has. We sat in silence for a few moments. I patted him on the back.

"Come on." I said. He looked up at me in surprise. Around this time of year, both of us were always on edge. Usually we would have no trouble sleeping through the loudness of the house, but now insomnia kicked in and we couldn't sleep without complete silence. Oh, how I hated October.

We both left his room and made our way down the stairs in silence. I was shaking from exhaustion and stress and I could tell Sasuke was too. We both lost too much in this month.

I guess I should explain. On October 10th, I was born. That was traumatic enough as is, but it always got worse over the years. Sasuke lost his family in the month of October**(Probably not true, but because there is no specific time we'll just say it was October ;).) **Not only this, but in the late October, Sasukeand I had been jumped. We had been twelve, not quite strong enough to fight them off and not weak enough for it to be understandable. Add to all that, but Konoha's winter started in October. Ever other place gets winter in December, nope, we get it in October.

Distantly I could hear Sakura trying to quiet everyone. Kiba and Kankuro were playing Guitar Hero on the flat screen, Ino was chugging a bottle of wine, Matsuri and Gaara were making out on the couch, Temari was playing peer pong against Tenten, and the rest were missing. When Sasuke and I entered the room everything seemed to freeze. We knew, that no matter how close we all were, they still had a slight fear and respect for us.

After a few seconds of silence everyone burst into action. Kiba dived for the remote and turned the t.v. off while Kankuro put all the games away and threw away the empty cans of beer into the trash. Ino rushed into the kitchen and put the wine away. Temari and Tenten picked up the beer pong table and rushed it into the other room, cups of beer and all. Matsuri and Gaara sat up and straightened themselves up and quickly separated and left for their own rooms. Kiba and Kankuro ran up the stairs to their room leaving just Ino andSakura in the room with us.

We all stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Sasuke and I just stood letting the silence soak into every pore in our bodies. A wave of exhaustion hit us like a ton of bricks. Without a word we both turned around and climbed up the stairs. I could feel Ino and Sakura's gazes on my back. I let Sasuke walk ahead while I turned around.

"Sakura?" Her green eyes met my blue ones.

"Tomorrow, make sure the new girl-" Sakura interrupted me.

"Hinata." she said.

"What?"

"Her name is Hinata.." She mumbled. I nodded.

"Okay, make sure Hinata isn't found by one of the Akatsuki spies. Follow her around as much as possiblewithout being suspicious and look for any sign of potential. Make sure she's good. Skip class and spy on her in P.E. if you need to, but we aren't recruiting anyone who will just drag us down. So don't bring her just because you like her. Got it?" I asked. Sakura nodded, but looked at me with confusion.

"You have a question?" I asked her tiredly.

"Just..why didn't you bring this up earlier?" I chuckled slightly at this question.

"The group won't be very happy to bring in a new member this late in the-" I searched for a proper word, "war."

"Then why do I get to know?" Ino said impatiently, afraid we'd forgotten she was there. I turned to her and gave another dry chuckle.

"Because you'll be helping her." I said before turning around and heading back to the attic. Sakura and Ino trailed behind me slowly, wanting to get to their rooms as well.

* * *

My hand flew out and hit the alarm clock the second it started-or should I say_ attempted_- to go off. I sat up and rubbed my eyes tiredly. Everything in the house was quiet. Hanabi wouldn't be awake yet and father was probably in his office. I slowly drug myself out of bed and made my way to the shower. The water was warm on my skin and I gave a shiver thinking of the snow that awaited me outside. Nothing kept me in the shower any longer, but I stayed letting the too hot water pour over my shoulders as I lost myself in thought. Today was my official first day at my new school...

Finally I turned around and turned off the water and stepped out, I didn't bother to grab a towel. I walked naked into my closet and glanced around at the clothing. I pulled on my underwear and bra first. It was days like this that made me wish this attire was acceptable. With a long sigh I pulled on black leggings and a loose white long sleeve shirt that covered my butt. I pulled on a brown pair of Uggs and left my closet walking back into the bathroom to dry my hair properly and put make up on.

When these petty tasks were complete it was time to do. I sighed, no breakfast today, I guess. I pulled my purple backpack over my shoulder and headed down the stairs. Father and Hanabi were waiting for me. I was perfectly on time, but I could see that in their eyes I was very much late. We all walked out the door in silence. The car ride was long and awkward, like it always was. We dropped off Hanabi first and even she, who was on good terms with father, seemed relieved to get out of the car.

This being said, it was nothing compared to how I felt when I got out of the car. Neither of us said a word in our parting. I stepped out of the car and let the cold air nip at my face. Feeling defiant I slammed the car door behind me and walked away. Without turning around I felt the cars presence disappear. I instantly relaxed with the knowledge that I was no longer being examined under an x-ray. My shoulders stayed looseonly for a few moments before tensing up again though, because _they _stood about five feet from me. I stopped in my tracks.

"So how exactly do you want me to test her?" the blonde girl, Ino, asked Naruto. Naruto had his head tilted up to meet the snow with closed eyes. He gave a brief sigh before answering the question.

"I didn't ask you to test her. I asked you to watch her." he said turning his head down to glance at her. Ino huffed in irritation.

"Well if you ask me it's obvious that she's going to end up one of us, so I'm just asking a head of time." Ino defended herself. A few of the guys shook their heads, if not in disagreement than with exasperation. I couldn't help wonder who they were talking about.

"I don't know if you ask me, the new girl seemed weak." Dog boy, Kiba, said this. Irritation flared up in me immediately, so it was me they were speaking of...and they think I'm weak. Defiance once again grew in the pit of my stomach and I marched forward.

The group of twelve, sensing my presence all looked towards me. I could feel the familiar feeling of being examined. I walked through their group, making them separate to give me room. Their gazed lingered on my and finally I stopped and turned around. They all looked at me curiously.

"Lets see. What could I say to all of you right now. There is the simple 'Take a picture, it lasts longer' or 'Didn't anyone ever tell you staring was rude?' Or even 'Move along, nothing to see here.' But do you want to know my personal favorite? Mind your own damn business." I know my tempered flared and that I was going to end up regretting these words some day...or now. I turned around to see everyone in the court-yard looking at me. My face heated up but I walked forward determined to win. Many glares were turnedtowards me and whispers broke out about me as I walked, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

Very suddenly my instincts alerted me of a danger. I turned around to see a knife flying at me. Well you see, I had many different reactions to this. My first, least potent reaction was terror, but I fought it off with ease. My second reaction was curiosity, this was the second strongest. The third? Well, I reached up and caught the knife with two fingers and flung it on the ground making it stick. Silence filled the court-yard. I turned around once again and began walking as the fear finally started to flare up. Behind me I could hear them speak though.

"Well, I guess there is your proof Naruto." Sakura's voice rang. I tried not to think of what this meant and walked faster.

I nearly ran up the stairs and to my locker. I sang the password which popped open for me and grabbed my stuff. I looked at the digital clock and saw that I still had twenty minutes until class. I slowly slid down my locker and put my head back with closed eyes. _Breathe, _I tried to remind myself, but.. what the hell was that? I caught a knife! There was nothing that could explain that, though, I couldn't help but feel the sense of pride rise up. Is it so bad if it helped me live? I opened my eyes and looked forward not really seeing anything. It wasn't until I saw two figures approaching me that I remembered whose lockers I was in between. I clumsily pushed my self up, but that was all I could get to until they were directly in front of me.

We all starred at each other with what seemed like forever. They looked me up and down, but not in a good way. They seemed to be sizing me up, _naturally_ I felt the need to do the same. They were both tall, 6 ft or even a couple of inches taller than that. Naruto was slightly thicker set than Sasuke, who had more of a lanky structure. Looking at them, I knew that they could both kill me though. Slowly they both had grins stretching over their faces. Worse they were amused grins.

"Nice work with the knife." Sasuke said, it took me a second to realize he was addressing me. I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Thanks." I said. We nodded at each other and I took this moment to make my escape. I got two feet away when a voice called me.

"Hey, whats your name?" Naruto asked. I turned to look at him full on in the face. I stared into his blue eyes. They were dark, clouded, and all together inexplicable.

"Hinata." I said. Naruto nodded and leaned over to stick out his hand. I shook it.

"Naruto." he said, before turning around to open his locker.

I turned around and began to walk away. It was moments before I realized what was in my hand... Narutohad given me a note.


	5. Musical Notes

**Hello everyone! I just want to say thank you to all the positive reviews I have received and to the constructive criticism as well. Also I do not own Naruto. Oh, and I was also wondering if any of you had any good ideas for songs that each individual character could be perform. I have a few in mind, but I would really like to hear so ideas. Thanks! :)**

_Hinata,_

_Meet us at the park on Elm Street where we will_

_pick you up at midnight. Feel free to bring a weapon,_

_in fact we suggest it. Also wear black clothing. It is_

_ESSENTIAL__ that you are not seen by anyone. See you then._

_-The Shinobi_

My heart was beating fast in my chest. Part of me wanted to scoff at this and say they were just trying to scare me, but another part felt a fierce sense of determination and curiosity. I would go, I decided. Though it would be a pain for me to even sneak out of the house unnoticed let alone find away to the park. I would have to walk, which would be annoying in the snow, but I would do it and as for the staying invisible? I've done it my whole life.

The bell had already rung, but I still stood hanging out in the bathroom. The stalls were just as beautiful as the halls, which was slightly strange to think of a bathroom like that. The doors were all different, one showed the ocean filled with fish and another showed something as simple as the sky. I looked back to the mirror and stared at myself. I looked disgruntled, which I was.

"Come on Hinata, we're already late for our first class on our first day. We just got to be as brave as when we caught the knife." I told myself. The girl in the mirror rolled her eyes. Great, now I'm talking to myself.

I grabbed my back pack and put it over my shoulder. I left the bathroom and walked in the direction ofmy home room class. I knocked on the door. Kakashi Sensei opened the door and gave me an eye smile. I grinned nervously back.

"Got lost Miss. Hyuga?" he asked. I chuckled sheepishly.

"Something like that." I replied. He waved me in to the room. The eleven all turned to look at me as I entered the classroom. I raised an eye brow at them and saw Sakura grin at me. I smiled back.

"Class this is Hinata Hyuga." Kakashi told them sticking his feet up on his desk and reading his book. I saluted them. Sakura stood up and grabbed my hand walking me over to their group.

"Hinata! Let me formally introduce everyone." she said brightly. I really did NOT want to officially meet any of them after this morning. Not only did one of them throw a knife at me, but I also was given a note from their leader. Lets just say none of us had exactly a good first impression.

"You know Sasuke and I already." Naruto said blandly while Sasuke waved. He gave nothing away about the note. I just nodded in return to both of them.

"Hi Hinata, I'm Ino!" they long-haired blonde said. I already knew who all of them were, but I let them introduce themselves anyway.

"Hi Ino." I said, surprised by her enthusiasm.

"Don't scare her Ino." the boy I remember as being Kiba said. Ino glared at him.

"I'm surprised your smell hasn't already done that Kiba!" Ino shot back.

"Guys, shut up." Naruto said giving them a warning glare. They both lapsed in to silence. There was an awkwardness around the room and I got the distinct impression that they all had fought recently.

"I'm Tenten. Nice to meet you." I looked over at the brown-haired girl and smiled taking her hand.

"I'm Temari and this lazy ass is Shikamaru." another blonde girl said jerking her thumb at Shikamaru who was sleeping on the desk.

"Hello Hinata. I am Gaara and this is my Matsuri." the tattooed boy said.

"I can introduce myself Gaara." Matsuri told him playfully. Gaara just smiled at her in return. I smiled at the cute couple and looked to see who was next.

"Kankuro and nice catch this morning." was all he said. I nodded at him in reply.

"I assume you know me, sister." Neji said coldly. I looked over at Neji. It had been a while since we saw each other, but I could still see he was bitter about issues with the family business.

"Still bitter I see, brother. I had hoped you would have grown past all that by now." I said to him in an equally icy voice. Neji stood up in anger.

"How dare you talk down to me! I bet you think you're so high and mighty just because of your daddy!" he said. I narrowed my eyes at him and felt my temper burn in the pit of my stomach.

"I will talk to you how you talk to me! And how dare you tell me who I am and how I think! I hate the business just as much as you and I'll have you know that I do not think myself above anyone and another thing! So don't accuse me of feeling any higher than anyone else, because all that will do is make you a hypocrite!" I snapped at him with venom. Neji took a step back from me in surprise. He had not expected to feel this much killer intent roll off me. I calmed then. My temper deflated as fast as it came. I took a deep breath and turned to the others who all looked at me again.

"I apologize for involving you in this matter." I then turned back to Neji who glared at me with almost as much hatred as my father, but no one had as much hate for me as him. I sighed.

"Whip the glare off your face Neji. Your hate will never be as much as the eyes that look at me at home." The bell rang so I turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

The rest of my classes flew by with relative ease. My bag was now full of heavy books which I would have to take home and I was headed off to my last class. Usually I would be glad to get in to music class and just relax, but after the knife incident and my argument with Neji I was very stressed out at the thought of having to see them all again.

I walked into the class room to see that it was empty with the exception of Sakura. I sighed in turned towards me and smiled at me brightly. I smiled back and walked towards her.

"I knew you were fiestier then how you first appeared!" she told me. I blushed at this comment. In all honesty, I was usually a very calm person, but the stress of moving has really gotten to me lately. Even so I was going to let them all continue thinking that I was tough.

"I'm sorry about this morning." I told her earnestly. Sakura just waved me off though.

"Don't worry about it. I wish more people would stand up to us like you do. Everyone else just treats us like celebrities just because we have pretty faces." She said.

"Better than being hated right?" I mumbled. Sakura looked at me full on in the face before I was suddenly pulled into a very tight hug. Even though I was surprised I hugged her back immediately. I could tellSakura and I were going to become close friends.

"Say, would you sing a song with me?" I looked at her questioningly.

"Like what?" I asked curiously. Sakura strode over to a black electric guitar. It had stickers all over it. She plugged it into the amp and hit it once to test it. Then she grinned at me and began to strum the chords. She grinned at me and really started playing. She then opened her mouth and started to sing that most appropriate song I could think of for this situation.

_"I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation_  
_You're living in the past it's a new generation_  
_A girl can do what she wants to do and that's_  
_What I'm gonna do_  
_An' I don't give a damn ' bout my bad reputation_

_Oh no not me_

_An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation_  
_Never said I wanted to improve my station_  
_An' I'm only doin' good_  
_When I'm havin' fun_  
_An' I don't have to please no one_  
_An' I don't give a damn_  
_'Bout my bad reputation_

Sakura gave me a look and so I began to sing. She looked at me in surprise and grinned and continued to strum. I closed my eyes and felt the music. I put every bit of anger and frustration in to it.

_Oh no, not me_  
_Oh no, not me_

_I don't give a damn_  
_'Bout my reputation_  
_I've never been afraid of any deviation_  
_An' I don't really care_  
_If ya think I'm strange_  
_I ain't gonna change_  
_An' I'm never gonna care_  
_'Bout my bad reputation_

_Oh no, not me_  
_Oh no, not me_

_Pedal boys!_

_An' I don't give a damn_  
_'Bout my reputation_  
_The world's in trouble_  
_There's no communication_  
_An' everyone can say_  
_What they want to say_  
_It never gets better anyway_  
_So why should I care_  
_'Bout a bad reputation anyway_  
_Oh no, not me_  
_Oh no, not me_

_I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation_  
_You're living in the past_  
_It's a new generation_  
_An' I only feel good_  
_When I got no pain_  
_An' that's how I'm gonna stay_  
_An' I don't give a damn_  
_'Bout my bad reputation_

_Oh no, not me_  
_Oh no, not_  
_Not me, not me"_

I froze when I heard clapping. I opened my eyes and saw the rest of the group in the room. Sakura set down her guitar and grinned at them before turning to me.

"You have a voice!"she exclaimed. I was speechless. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

"Not right now she doesn't." Kiba said grinning wickedly. Sakura shot him a look while Ino hit him over the head. I shook my head trying to clear it and then smiled at everyone.

"Do all of you play an instrument?" I asked. Tenten nodded.

"Some of us are more inclined to it, but we all have our moments." she said.

"Yeah, like Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and apparently you have just a natural talent for it." she added. I nodded slightly.

"Yup, I play guitar, piano, and drums. Sasuke sings, but likes his guitar more and Naruto does just about everything. Do you play anything?" Sakura asked. I nodded.

"I play piano, guitar, drums, flute, and the cello." I said after thinking about it.

"Wow, you play almost as much as Naruto." Ino said. I shrugged. We all lapsed into silence for a short while. Slowly the group melted away and headed off towards their own instruments. Now Sakura picked up an acoustic guitar that was covered with paper. After studying it I noticed that on each piece of paper was a song lyrics. Tenten went off to play a silver flute by the window. Sasuke picked up his electric guitar and plugged it in. Ino walked over to a keyboard and hit keys in a way I wasn't sure if she was playing anything in particular. Neji just put on head phones. Gaara and Matsuri sat at the full piano together playing in tandem. Kiba sat at a drum and just tapped it to any rhythm that came to was tuning a grey acoustic guitar with Temari next to him with her own purple and tan was randomly striking at the xylophone. Finally, Naruto went over to a violin and started to play. I just watched him, not sure what I was supposed to do right now. Sakura seeing me sit alone grabbed a random guitar from the back and brought it to me.

"This guitar doesn't belong to anyone so you can have it." She said smiling at me. I smiled at took it from her, looking it over. It was a beautiful white guitar. I ran my fingers over the strings listening to the sound. It was tuned perfectly. Sakura pulled up a chair next to me and we played together.

This went on for a long while until the bell rang startling all of us out of our bubbles. Around me everybody stood, taking their stuff and heading towards the door. I stayed sitting, clinging to the peacefulness that playing had brought me. Maybe everything actually was going to be alright, but I wouldn't know until tonight.


	6. White

I looked out my window only to see white. I unconsciously raised an eyebrow in amusement. Leave it to the night I need to get out for a blizzard to start. With a silent sigh I turn around and walk into my closet. They told me to wear black, but do to the weather, I've decided to wear white. After a few minutes of digging around in the mess that is my closet. I pull of a pair of white leather pants along with some white spandex. I first pull on the spandex then tug on the leather pants. The spandex would make it easier to move around in the leather, which I chose to keep me warm and for their surprising flexibility. Next I pulled on a tight white long sleeve shirt and then another loose white t-shirt. Next I put on my white cashmere scarf and gloves. Finally I pulled on my off white p-coat to complete the look. Hopefully, this outfit will keep me warm on my long walk. I grabbed my white snow boots and after lacing them up I walked over to my window.

I stared out my window several moments before opening my window. A gust of icy wind blew into my face and I quickly shut my window again. Turning around I grabbed my white beanie and pulled it on to my head. I pulled it down low enough to cover my ears and pulled up the collar of my p-coat before tightening my scarf again. Once again I opened my window, wincing as the freezing air hut my face one again. Toughing it out, I put my foot on the window seal placing my hands above me to keep me supported. I reached out, half blind, searching for the tree branch that I knew was just outside my window. It was just a matter of finding it. Finally, I felt something rough hit my hand. Taking a leap of faith I grabbed hold of it and leaped. I heard the branch wine in protest of my added weight as I struggled to hold on. I reached my other hand up taking a hold of the branch. My lungs stung as I breathed in the cold air and my hands burned from the ice-cold snow the held onto the tree. Ignoring it all I swung my arm over grabbing hold of the branch once more. Trying to make my way towards the base of the tree. At a steady pace I continues on until I felt my stomach hit the rough bark of the tree. I was sure, that if the wind hadn't been howling so loudly, I would have heard the bark's soft drag on the fabric of my clothes.

Trying not to rush myself, I stretched out my right leg feeling for some kind of purchase in the wood. My arms started to burn from the strain of holding my weight and despite the cold, my forehead started to sweat and itch from underneath my beanie. With relief, I found a divot in the tree. Hoping beyond belief that there was another branch somewhere I flipped my hands on the branch above me before stretching my hand out for another branch. Trying not to panic my hand flew back to the branch above me. I took a few breaths trying to calm my self down. I closed my eyes then, pulling from my memory the images of my yard outside my house. I focused on the tree and rotated the image around in my mind to where I was no hanging. My arms were now starting to shake from the strain of holding myself there for so long and from the cold, but I forced this out of my mind anyway trying to focus. Thinking about the image in my head I suddenly remembered. I was correct in my original thinking that there was a branch near by. The only problem was that it was on my other side away from the divot that supported the weight my arms couldn't hold.

I opened my eyes then taking a deep breath of cold air. Slowly I took my foot off the divot with much regret. The burn in my arms increased as more of my weight was added back on. I moved my hands back several inches, then without thinking I reached out my arm. There was nothing there. Disappointment and frustration was starting to cloud my thoughts, but I tried again anyway. I reached my hand out once more before letting it fall, but then it hit something. I turned my head squinting my eyes and searching. My eyes followed arm all the way until it was the branch, which was two feet lower than I had originally thought.

I grabbed hold of the branch, panting as I now swung in between the two branches at an uneven angle. Making sure I had a good grip on the lower branch I let out of the higher one. Once more I swung and I bit my lip to keep from crying out from the strain. I threw my hand up and grabbed hold of the branch. Without taking a break I swung my legs forward, wrapping them around a more slender part of the base, where this branch was attached. With a sigh of relief I rapped one arm around this more slender base before wrapping the next one. Without taking a moment to rest I scooted around the branch and fell back, letting my back hit the other part of the tree. With a grin I crouched low and waddled over to the edge then I jumped off. My feet hit the floor immediately. I gave a quiet whoop of joy and grinned at my success.

Rubbing my arms I continued on without break. I squinted at my watch, despite all my struggle it only took me seven minutes to get down and I still had fifty-three minutes left to get there, but some how I suspected I would need all the time I could get to make it there in this snow. I pulled my hat down farther over my ears before placing my hands in my pockets where I had a knife and the note stored. I put my chin down to my chest and walked on. Disappearing into the miniature blizzard or so I hoped anyway. After all, I grinned to myself, I was told not to be followed.

I officially hated snow. It was the worst thing in the world. What kind of place got blizzards in _October_? Not any normal place, that's for sure. Despite the freezing air that surrounded me I was making pretty good time. I would have to thank my aunt for getting me these snow boots next time I see her. The snow was very disorienting, but I had made sure to walk by this park before attempting this. I knew what to look for. My eyes never adjusted to the strange brightness that surrounded me. I thanked God I wasn't in daylight, this trip may be impossible then.

Finally I saw what I was looking for. A red scarf I had planted at the stop sign just before the park. I grinned at my genius, thanking God once more that someone hadn't stolen it. Not that I particularly liked the scarf, but it may have been impossible to distinguish where I was. I walked swiftly to the scarf and unwrapped it from the pole putting it around my mouth to help me stay warm. Luckily my little tree work out had gave me enough adrenaline to last me until now. Go endorphins I guess. Now I had to wait.

Then a white car appeared on the street I knew it was them. Not only was the car nice, but the expensive snow tires also were a key factor. Three people got out of the car, one woman and two men. I could only seem their forms, I suspected this was because they were also dressed in white.

"You made it." Sakura's voice rang out. She came and hugged me quickly. Behind her was Gaara andNaruto. Both men looked me up and down before nodding approvingly.

"Come on, we don't know if they're watching or not." Naruto said before turning back around and getting into the passenger side of the car. Gaara followed suit and got into the driver's seat. Sakura smiled at me and took my hand leading me to the car. She opened the door and we both slid in. I shivered slightly at the warmth. I took off my gloves and examined my hands. They were red and blistered from my climb down the tree.

"What happened to your hands?" Sakura exclaimed as Gaara pulled out of the spot, proceeding to rush away at what I was sure an illegal speed.

"Had to sneak out of the house." I told her. Sakura raised an eye brow. In front of us I could tell Narutoand Gaara were both listening.

"Well, I'm on the second story of the house and in order to get down I had to climb a tree. This is the first time I made the climb without being able to see what I was doing properly." Gaara makes a sharp turn then, jerking us all.

"Oh, well let me see." she says. I cautiously let her see my hands and watch as Sakura takes out some gauze from her bag along with some rubbing alcohol. I wince as she pours it over my cuts, but I don't say anything. After cleaning the wounds Sakura raps them in the gauze and ties it.

"There." she says smiling at me. I smile back.

"Thanks." I tell her, looking down at my hands.

"No problem. It's my job after all. I'm the medic along of the gang along with Ino." she informs me. I nod my head. This makes sense, I guess. Glancing at Gaara who was driving at a crazy speed with great skill, I had to assume he was the get away driver. I also glance at Naruto who is staring ahead not making a sound. I wondered if this was normal.

"We'll explain everything once we get there." Sakura tells me, interrupting my thoughts. I turn to her.

"Whats there to explain? You guys are part of the street war, yeah?" I ask looking her in the 's eyes widen in surprise and Gaara makes a sharp turn. Naruto speaks then, without turning around.

"You're a smart one." he says.

"Thanks." I say coolly.

"How'd you know?" Sakura asks me curiously.

"My mom used to be a part of the street war until she gave it up and married my dad. They didn't appreciate her leaving and killed her when I was little. Obviously at the time I wasn't aware of this, but my mom left me clues." I tell her. This was only half-true, what made her leave was the fact that she was pregnant with me.

"I see. So you are familiar, with how these things work then?" Sakura asks looking at me. I shake my head.

"Not exactly, I will still need you guys to explain a few things to me, but I know why you asked me to meet you here. You need a new recruit, someone the enemy won't recognize, someone who will stay a secret. That's you asked me to come at night, so I wouldn't be seen when you picked me up. Though, I can tell some of you weren't so sure of choosing me." I say giving a side long glance at Naruto who chuckled.

"Good guess." he said. Gaara then gave a last turn and stopped the car.

"We're here." Sakura said opening the door. I followed her out from her side, not bothering to open the door. I follow her, Gaara, an Naruto into the biggest house I have ever seen in my life. It had to be three stories and probably had a basement. It looked like it needed a new paint job, but other wise it looked brand new. I could tell though, that this house must have been many years old. It was a classic really. I was looking forward on entering it.

"We call this the Funhouse." Sakura said smiling at my admiring gaze. I looked over at her.

"Do you all stay here?" I ask. Sakura nods her head.

"None of us really have a place to go. Sasuke, Naruto, Matsuri, Neji, Tenten and I's parents are all was kidnapped and he doesn't know where his family is and Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro all ran away from their abusive father. Ino ran away because she felt betrayed that her family didn't believe her when she said she was being raped and Kiba was disowned because of his nose. That's why we're all here. To get away. We're each others family now." Sakura said frowning slightly before brightening towards the end of her sentence.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said and I meant it. I knew how hard it was to lose a parent and to be stuck with one who had no right to be called so. I didn't plan on letting my secrets loose yet though. I was willing to let them think of me as ignorant to all the pain. Though, my argument with Neji might have given me awaymore than I thought before. I'd have to be careful and decide whether I was going to do this or not. Or even if I can trust them.

"It's fine. You know pain as much as the rest of us I'm sure." Sakura said. She walked ahead of me so I couldn't see her face when she said this. It made me curious on how much she saw through me. Narutoopened the door and a rush of noise exploded into the silent night. I saw Naruto cringe as he walked into the house while we followed.

The house was extremely loud and I became curious to how we didn't hear it from the outside. I looked around the house to see various cushioned objects to bounce the noise back. I suddenly had the fierce impression that this was the most safe or dangerous house I have ever entered in my life. For the first time since I have met these people I became afraid. They could kill me and know one would know. My body would never be found and no one would even think to suggest these people of committing the crime. At the same time though, an equally as fierce sense of security surrounded me. These people wouldn't hurt me.

Suddenly it was silent. What ever noise had been blaring had been shut off as I was walked into a living room. Everyone in the gang was there and they were all staring at me in a new way. It was different from when they had stared after I finished singing. Their eyes were upraising and calculating. I straightened my back then and lifted my chin. I let them look me over. Suddenly all the girls approached me at once. All but Sakura, who was standing to the side watching, were in my face and surrounding me. Tenten put a knife in my face and I stared down the blade until I made eye contact with the brown-eyed girl. I held her gaze until she put her knife down and stepped back next to Sakura, whispering something in her and Naruto's ears.

Temari approached me then when a fan. It was razor-sharp and she dragged it against my cheek. She also met my gaze. She nicked my cheek causing a drop of blood to release from a pore, but I still held her gaze unflinchingly. Temari gave a nod of approval before also stepping back to speak with Naruto,Tenten, and Sakura. Now it was only Matsuri and Ino watching me. Matsuri and Ino stood next to each other about a foot away from me and looked at me.

"We're going to test your speed and fighting okay?" Matsuri said very kindly. I raised an eyebrow, but nodded anyway. In a split second Matsuri was on me. I blocked her punch and winced as the sore musculus in my arm took the impact.

I jumped back and threw off my scarfs and the p-coat before coming into a stance. I barely had time to do this before Ino was also on me, but she had a long knife. I slid to the side and narrowed my eyes analyzing everything she was doing. This time when Ino came at me I stood my ground and with two fingers I hit her wrist with enough force to make her drop the knife. Then reaching up I jabbed her in the neck with the same to fingers, hitting her pressure point. Wincing Ino went down. I grinned, I knew enough about the human nervous system to know what points hurt the most and what happened when one was pushed. Ino wouldn't be getting up until Sakura fixed her up.

Matsuri looked surprised that Ino had gone down and attacked me with more speed. I dodged every punch she threw whilst trying to focus. She may be fast, but from what I could tell her hits weren't that hard. That wasn't going to help me though. I would have to be just as fast and smart. This time when Matsuri went to throw a punch I moved my legs and went into the splits before sweeping my foot taking her legs out beneath her. Matsuri gave a 'eep' of surprise before hitting the floor with an 'umph' I giggled slightly as I stood and gave her my hand. Matsuri smiled at me and took my hand. Sakura walked over to help Ino out.

"How did you do that?" Matsuri asked me, gesturing to Ino.

"I was in advanced science classes and self-defense. Ironically they shared the same teacher, so she taught me how to press certain points that will bring your opponent down." I told her. Matsuri nodded before smiling the biggest smile I have ever seen.

"I like you!" the she turned around and looked at Naruto who was staring at us with a calculating expression, "I say we keep her." she said giggling. I smirked slightly and looked behind me to see Ino standing.

"She's a good fighter. Needs a bit more training though." Ino looked over at me.

"You'll need to learn how to fight with difficult clothing on or tweak your wardrobe a bit; I can help you with that. Another then that your basically a natural, had we been coming at you with the intent to kill it may have been different, but until we train you up a bit your good." Ino said nodding at me with a smile and a wink.

"So," Sakura said looking over at Naruto, "is she in?"

Naruto didn't answer at first. He was still looking at me with a blank facial expression. I met his dark gaze. I couldn't tell what he was thinking and it made me uneasy, but I held his eye anyway. I wanted to prove I wasn't afraid. Not of him or of what was coming.

"We'll have to explain many things to her." Naruto said finally. Sakura, Ino, and Matsuri gave calls of excitement while the others grinned.

"Matsuri and Ino you'll be in charge of teaching her how to blend in to various places and her you will teach her how to fist fight. Tenten and Temari you will get her a weapon and teach her how to use it to its full potential. Neji, you must help her master the Gentle Fist, whether you like it or not." Naruto added the last part when Neji gave signs of arguing.

"For now, give her a tour." Naruto said before walking up the stairs and leaving everyone behind. Almost immediately Kiba appeared next to me.

"I'll show her around." he said grinning, but Ino hit him over the head.

"And try to make advances on her? Not likely! Us girls will show her!" Ino said while the girls all gave a nod of approval. Kiba went a sulked somewhere else in the house and I giggled slightly.

"Come on Hinata. I think we'll have a great time together." Matsuri said grabbing my arm.

"You coming Sakura?" Tenten called. Sakura shook her head though.  
"I'm going to go check on Naruto, somethings off." she said. They all shrugged, but I wondered what went on between them. I shook my head, trying to clear it. It wasn't my business.

"You know," Temari said, "I think we're going to get along Hinata." With that we headed off into another room.


	7. Thank you

"Shut up Hinata, I am _giving _you a ride." Sakura said so sternly I couldn't help but comply. Sighing we both grabbed our coats and headed out the door. It was around three in the morning and the blizzard had let up considerably. I was very grateful for this, because I wasn't sure if I would be able to head up the tree so easily as getting down, which hadn't been easy at all.

The past couple hours had been tiring, I had to admit to that. Temari and Tenten were brutal and even Sakura had been hard on me. Honestly, they scared me a bit. Luckily, I hadn't had to deal withNeji yet and for that I was very grateful. I still wasn't sure if I could go without ripping his throat out yet. We got into the same white car as before and Sakura backed out of the drive way with ease. She looked around before completely leaving. I had the feeling she wasn't doing this to avoid a crash, but to checking we weren't being watched. After confirming the coast was clear she drove off. I was relieved to see she wasn't as insane a driver as Gaara was. Sakura, hearing me sigh, chuckles.

"Yeah Gaara can be kind of crazy sometimes, but he's gotten us out of many situations. He knows the roads of the Fire County like the, no _better _than, the back of his hand." Sakura said and I could hear her respect for the man in her voice.

"You all are very close, huh?" I observed. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"We're each others family, but besides that how can we not be close? With this lifestyle you need all the allies you can get. So more over we trust each other inexplicably." Sakura said, her eyes shinning. I took this as a chance to learn some of the history. I had to know how I was getting into after all.

"So how did this all get started?" I asked giving her a side long glance. Sakura's smile automatically turned into a slight grimace and she turned her head.

"Well that's kind of a complicated and loaded question," Sakura paused and glanced over at me, " we'll explain everything to you more this weekend."  
This weekend?

"Why? What's this weekend?" I asked and Sakura's face lit up once more.

"You are going to be spending your first night at the Funhouse." Sakura said excitedly. I bit my lip at this. There was no way my father was going to let me go out for longer than a few hours, but there was no way I could miss it either. I would have to wrack my brain later for an excuse to give my father.

"Oh." was all I said for now. Sakura nodded her head happily as she turned a corner with ease.

"The first night is sort of an orientation, I guess you could say. We do it every year actually." she says.

"You bring in a new member every year?" I ask in surprise, but Sakura just laughs it off.

"Of course not!" Sakura said giggling. I flushed slightly at this, but press on anyway.

"Then what did you mean?" I push.

"Every year around this time, when things are especially tense, we all do an all nighter together. This is important because we use that night to completely release. We tell each other everything that happened over the year relieving our most personal secrets. It's like renewing our bonds with each other, showing each other that we completely trust one another. It also gives us all a chance to scream, drink, and sometimes fight. We take the time to let everything out. It's like our own personal new year. A time to restart the clock and let the past be the past. On the occasion we have new comers though, we also use it as an orientation and to find out everything about this new person. Which in this case is you. So be ready to reveal everything to us." Sakura said.

I wasn't at all sure of how I felt about this. I didn't want them all knowing everything about me. I wanted to stay in the dark as a mysterious being, besides all they were going to do was judge me. Nothing about this so-called orientation seemed good for me. I clenched my fist.

"We won't judge you Hinata." Sakura's quiet voice broke into my thoughts. We were at a red light now and Sakura was looking at me full on in the face with an emotion I didn't recognize.

"We," Sakura paused here looking for her words and I continued to look her in the eye, "all understand how painful the world can be. The hell you've been through, you may think we don't understand, but we do. We really do. " Sakura looked away from me then and pulled the car forward again.

We went the rest of the car ride in silence. I felt guilty then. Sakura knew what it was like to lose a parent and that pain that went with it and the way she looked at me, I could tell she saw through my tough façade. She somehow read me like a book, despite all the mental duct tape I had wrapped around my pages. So this is what this feels like, I thought to myself, to have someone who full understands your pain. Finally, Sakura stopped at my house and I got out of the car, but before leaving I turned to her.

"Sakura?" I said looking her in the eye. She turned her head towards me and I could see the raw pain in her eyes. She had the same eyes as me, as everyone in the Funhouse, despite how hard they all hid it.

"Thank you." I whispered before getting out of the car and dashing through my yard towards the tree. Behind me I heard the sound of the engine as it revved and pulled away. I smiled softly to myself as I jumped up and grabbed hold of a branch. Grunting, I pulled myself up and began swinging towards my window. I rocked my self back and forth until finally my foot caught the window. Sliding very carefully I went through the window, before shutting it firmly behind me. I smirked to myself. That hadn't been hard at all.

Looking at my watch, I saw that it was now nearing three thirty and I was exhausted. I threw off all my layers until I was just in a cami and my underwear and crawled into bed happily. I shivered slightly at the cool feeling of the comforter, but I was quickly over whelmed with exhaustion and passed out.

* * *

_Be-_ I picked up the alarm clock and threw it across the room before it was even given a chance to go off completely. I laid in bed for a few more moments in blissful relaxation. I had the craziest dream where a strange gang called the Shinobi had asked me to meet them at midnight and I actually went out of way in a blizzard to do it. I even had to climb down my tree in the white blindness. Giving a sigh I put my arms out to push myself out of bad, but stopped when soreness washed over my arms in one swift movement. I collapsed back down on my pillows, grimacing at the pain in my arms. Whatthe-

That was when everything came flooding back to me. It hadn't been a dream, I was really a part of the Shinobi, or I was going to be. Laying face down on my pillows I wondered briefly how I was going to get myself to do anything today. My arms were killing me and I still had to go to school. Stupid hump Wednesdays. Rolling over, I used my abs to help me sit up and stepped out of bed. I walked towards the shower, letting my arms hang loosely. Once I was in the bathroom I continued to stare at the shower door for a long moment. Some part of me had a delusional hope that the glass door would open on its own without me having to open them with my poor noodle arms, but because this obviously would not happen I proceeded to open the semi heavy doors and turn on the shower.

Though I had not done anything that could be considered extreme the pain in my arms flared back up. With irritated curious I wondered if I could have somehow tore a muscle or stretched it some how during my late night exhibition. I doubted it, I was probably just being a wimp about it. I stepped into the hot shower and the steam automatically soothed me. My pain in my sore muscles temporarily relaxed and I was able to wash properly without flinching at every movement I had to make with my arms.

I stepped out of the shower very reluctantly, but luckily the heat from the water seemed to have moved out to my room so I was comfortable for now. Along with this my muscles had been turned to jelly after the heat of the water had loosened them so they were painless to move for the moment. I walked over to my closet and looked around, naked. I decided to wear an outfit that reflected my mood completely: lazy. I grabbed a pair of grey yoga pants and a tight red long-sleeved shirt that had my favorite band, Mayday Parade, on it. After pulling on socks I grabbed my brown ugg boots and put them on before walking back into the bathroom and blow drying my hair.

After my hair was dry, I threw it up in a pony tail. I didn't even bother with make up before I grabbed my bad, wincing as my biceps panged, and headed out my bedroom door. The house was just as quiet as it has always been in the mornings, with father drinking his coffee and Hanabi eating her cereal. I made myself a cup of coffee as well and spread cream cheese over a bagel. I sighed slightly at the silence that consumed the room and suddenly missed the loud noises of the Funhouse. Despite myself, I wondered what they were doing this morning.

* * *

I stood sipping at my black coffee and chewing on a piece of toast. Sasuke stood across from me and we stared at each other, both too consumed with exhaustion to really comprehend anything that was going on around us. Kiba and Kankuro were eating their Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch loudly and with their mouths open with Ino looked at them with disgust. Sakura was still sleeping, but on the coach, fully dressed. Mornings were the few times that the Funhouse was in near complete silence. If anything chaotic were to happen in the morning, there was no telling who would get hurt. Lets just say, Sasuke, Gaara, and I just needed our quiet time sometimes. Not even Matsuri would dare break the beautiful bliss we call the silence of the morning. Besides, I didn't need any trouble. Not today.

"Time to go." I whispered, grabbing people from there sleepy dazes. They all watched me as I grabbed my bad and started to head for the door. Quietly many people followed, but I stopped suddenly.

"Sasuke, pick Sakura up, no need to wake her until we get to the school. She's earned the sleep." I said glancing over at Sasuke who stared at me for a moment. I waited patiently for his morning brain to process what I said before he turned around and walked to the couch, picking Sakura up bridal style.

"She can sleep in the back of my car." I said and he nodded. Shikamaru yawned walking up the stairs from the basement, holding his bag with Temari trailing behind him looking like the living dead.

Not surprisingly Gaara and Matsuri were together. Tenten and Neji walked out of the training room together, both looking fully away. All of us stared at them as if they were insane, but both just shrugged. All of us walked out of the house together and got into our respected cars. I pulled out first, as my car was blocking the exit for the rest. Sakura laid in the back looking very peaceful withSasuke next to me in the passenger seat.

"So what do you think of the new girl?" Sasuke asked.

"Hinata." I said absent mindedly. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but amended his question.

"Okay, so what do you think of Hinata?" Sasuke asked looking at me with curiosity.

"Well, why do you ask?" I asked in return, smirking as I felt Sasuke's frustration grow. Honestly though, I didn't know how to answer his question. I wasn't sure what to think of Hinata. She was fiercer then almost any untrained woman I had ever met. Not only that, but she didn't seem to befaking it. If anything she pretended to be weak and that meant she was also smart.

"I don't know. I'm just trying to figure out where you're at bro. You've been distant." Sasukemuttered and I glanced at him, hearing the concern in his voice. It caused me to feel a pang of gratitude. I sighed.

"I know. This is just a hard month...for both of us. I'm just trying to get us all passed it and while dealing with all this I also have to handle bringing in the new recruit." I said and it was true. I could feel the stress in my shoulders and back.

"I get that, but you do know that you aren't doing it alone, right?"

"I know bro. I know." I said smiling briefly at him. Sasuke grinned back at me and suddenly it was like everything was normal again. We were just two kids trying to get by and we were going to stick together. We were brothers.

"So," I said easing the conversation into more lighthearted waters, "hows it going with Sakura?" I asked.

From the corner of my eye, I saw something that I thought I would never witness. It almost made me want to pull out my guns and ask him who the hell he was and where his brother was. Sasukewas _blushing._ Most wouldn't think anything of this. It was just blood rising to the face right? didn't blush. It just wasn't something he did, not even in the most embarrassing situations. He was the cool easy-going guy, solid as a rock. Part of me recognized though, that this was only possible because I was the only one aware of him.

"Oh man. Talk." I said with a wild grin. Sasuke shot me a glare and quickly glanced back at Sakura, who was still sleeping soundly.

"Calm down. She's out." I said waving it all off and Sasuke sighed, the color fading from his cheeks as quickly as it had rose up and he deflated.

"Nothing is happening. She's been concerned about you mostly, I haven't even had a time to talk to her properly, sense, well you know." Sasuke said.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. About a week ago, when things had been relaxed, as it was not yet the month of October, Sasuke and Sakura had kissed. Granted, the both of them had been wasted, but there had been something there. I was a witness to that, but, because they had been so drunk neither of them felt confident enough to bring it up. Both afraid it had been spur of the moment.

"Come on, man. Sakura is crazy about you." I said trying to reason with the air of stubbornness that has grown about him.

"How do we know, she's still not hung up on _you?"_ he asked with slight bitterness. I frowned at his words. Pulling into the parking lot, I parked, but neither of us got out right away.

"We both know that's not true. Both Sakura and I had moved on before our relationship had even ended. You know that, right now your just bringing up excuses to stop you from acting like a man and asking her out. You know she'll say yes, so whats stopping you?" Sasuke didn't answer for a moment, but I could feel his resentment disappear to be replaced with confusion and despair.

"Everything I have ever had has been taken away from me and I'm afraid that if I take something back the same thing will happen, but it will hurt her as well." Sasuke said quietly.

"That's not going to happen again. Neither you nor she will let that happen. None of us will ever let anything break us apart. Trust me." I said looking him straight in the eye. Sasuke looked down from my gaze before looking back up over at me.

"Thanks." he said, still quiet and I grinned at him.

"Dude. I will always have your back." I said and Sasuke grinned back.

"I know bro and I got yours." he replied. We both put our hands together, doing our handshake, before getting out of the car, waking Sakura, and starting the real part of the day.


	8. A Fox is a Wolf Who Sends Flowers

I winced as the shrieking reached my ears. I was too tired for this shit. Glancing over at the rest of the gang, I could tell that they felt the same way. Sakura, who was the most recently woken, looked ready to kill. Trust me, I had seen that look before and it never ended well. The bruise on my stomach from when I had punched Sasuke was proof of that. Did Sasuke get punched whenever he hit me? No. No he did not and it just wasn't fair, but that's just how Sakura was. She just wanted his handsome face intact. I wondered if anyone wanted _my _handsome face intact. Based on the screaming around me, I was positive there was.

"Honestly, I don't see why they react like this." Hinata, who was walking in with the group for the first time, wondered aloud. We all glanced over at her with surprise. Wasn't it obvious?

"It's because we're _hott_!" Kiba said with a smug grin. Most of us gave an off hand nod of agreement, but Hinata didn't look convinced.

"That's it? Just because you guys are all attractive? _That _is why random girls want to have your children or impregnate you?" Hinata asked looking skeptical.

"Correction, girls want to get pregnant with our children to keep us. Boys want to shag them and run." Shikamaru said with a shrug. Hinata shook her head, trying to rap her head around this.

"That's so shallow!" she exclaimed. I looked over and grinned at her, enjoying the momentary stun that it gave her. I may be tired, but I was in a relatively good mood. Something this new girl had yet to see until now.

"That's life. _The whole damn world is just as obsessed w__ith who's the best dressed and who's having sex._ _Who's got the money, who gets the honeys._ _Who's kinda cute and who's just a mess" _I sang the beginning of Bowling for Soup's "High School Never Ends". Everyone laughed, including Hinata. I watched as her whole face changed and was mesmerized. The calm, composed expression that I had become accustomed to seeing since I met her four days ago disappeared from her face. It was replaced by one of sheer light, at least in my mind. I finally knew the definition of "A Smile that Could Light Up the Room."

I turned away from her, trying to regather my thoughts. As could be expected, I wasn't know to be someone so...carefree. I was the serious, composed, sarcastic witty guy that kept everyone safe, but in that moment of looking at her I felt different. I felt like a normal high schooler who was just having a good time with his friends and checking out a pretty girl, but that wasn't right. I had seen plenty of pretty girls before I lived with Sakura and Ino, but I hadn't so much as thought of a girl sense dating Sakura. Strange.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts and caught Sasuke's eye. He rose an eyebrow at me and I cursed internally. He had saw it, but then again, nothing got past Sasuke and I probably would have talked to him about it later anyway. Why was I so bugged out anyway? I decided to push it from my mind. Besides, I didn't have time for girls. Right?

* * *

I hummed as my locker opened itself. Surprisingly, despite all my tiredness I was in a good mood. I tried to convince myself that it was because of my delirium from lack of sleep, but I knew that wasn't the case. My eyes slipped away from the contents of my locker and over to the person standing on my right side. He was more relaxed then I had ever seen him and it was only then did I realize how truly attractive he was. It was not the typical kind of look you would expect. Most guys with his characteristics (blonde hair and blue eyes) were beach bums, skater dudes, or captain of the football team, but he wasn't. His blonde hair was spiky like what I'd imagine a football player would style it, but he still had bangs that fell into his eyes like a skater. He was tall and lean as well, strong, but not buff, like a surfer. His blue eyes were dark and thoughtful, like an artist or a writer, but also calculating like an Ace. His expressions ranged from carefully blank to sympathetic to cold to burning to perfectly cheerful. The way he held himself was different as well. It wasn't like a normal high school boy's blind confidence. It _was _confident, but he wasn't underestimating anyone. He saw everyone just as they were. He was different all right. Even his clothes didn't give away who he was like everyone else.

Sakura and Ino were most definitely preppy, you could see it in their clothing. Kiba and Kankuro were jocks, Neji the well dressed school boy, Shikamaru the lazy stoner look, though I doubted he touched the stuff, Gaara and Sasuke who rocked the emo look, Matsuri looked like an indie chick, Temari the feisty fighter, and Tenten the outsider. They were all easy to identify. Even me, the simple shy girl turned punk. Naruto wasn't like that though. You could not pin him down, no matter how hard you tried. Not his clothes, not his personality, and not his looks, he was completely unreadable.

That was when I realized it was all on purpose. He deliberately took the time to compose himself into an unreadable fashion. A clever cover to keep him under the radar. No one looking for the leader of a gang member would expect it to be him. Hell, I wouldn't expect any of these people to be part of a gang. They were all 'too' of something. 'Too' girly, 'too' ass holish, 'too' sportsy, all of them. I grinned as these thoughts passed through my mind. This was the most intelligent set up I have ever seen, but it also made me curious. I wanted to know what they were underneath and I planned on figuring it our. Or maybe, another thought came into my head, I wouldn't have to. Sakura had said that this weekend I was going to spend the night. A night where they would find everything about me and I about them. I decided then, I was going to that psycho sleep over, no matter what I had to tell.

"Hinata? Are you okay?" I was brutally ripped out of my thoughts and back into the real world at Ino's voice. I could feel everyone's gaze on me and refocused my eyes from the daze I had been.

"Yeah, fine. Why?" I asked innocently. They all stared at me, knowing I was lying.

"Well you've been staring into space for a long time now." Naruto said awkwardly and I knew at that moment that I had been staring at _him_.

"Oh I was staring at you huh? Sorry about that. When I get thoughtful my eyes automatically turn to whoever pops up in my mind, but don't worry it wasn't just you." I said smoothly. Well, I was telling the truth, wasn't I?

"Well that sucks! It must be a dead give away when you like somebody!" Ino said. I turned to her and laughed lightly trying to fight the blush that wanted to crawl up and settle on my cheeks.

"Not really. I like to think I'm smoother then that. Besides, I have yet to find a guy who could keep up with me." I said rolling through this conversation. I was surprised by how easy these comebacks came to me. I have never been known to be what you would call, "Silver Tongued."

"So true. Guys willing to actually try are a rarity." Temari agreed and Hinata watched with amusement as she shot Shikamaru a withering look. Well that was interesting, I guess there was something going on there.

"Oh, I don't know Temari. I think they try a lot harder then you think." Matsuri disagreed as she smiled at Gaara, who kissed her in return.

"Despite how interesting this conversation is. I think we need to get to class." Sasuke interrupted before anyone else could contribute an opinion. Hinata was surprised to see Sakura look at him disappointingly and it made her curious. She would have to ask about that later.

I have to be honest and say that I have never showed any desire to be in a relationship. The thought of liking anyone has never even crossed my mind. If someone were to ask me why I would say school work was more important, but anyone could guess that this wasn't true. The truthful answer would be much more complicated to understand if you haven't lost a parent. I lost my mom before I was old enough to have any interest towards a boy and because of this I believe it has set me back emotionally. She was never there to teach me about boys and love. My father didn't even bother other then stumbling through the sex talk, but it was almost pointless because I didn't even bother to think like that. I don't know how. So Sasuke's interruption came as a relief. I didn't want to have to explain how I was emotionally backwards. How was it that Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Temari, and Matsuri turned out fine? Then again, I don't know when they became separated from their parents. Maybe I would find out this weekend.

"You coming Hinata?" Sakura asked turning around to look at me. I smiled, nodded, and quickly following her and the the rest of the group.

* * *

"What's your favorite color?" Temari asked over Sakura's guitar playing. I thought for a moment.

"Lavender." I answered.

"If you could be an animal what animal would you be?" Tenten questioned leaning forward.

The whole group was listening as Tenten and Temari questioned me about various things. The day had gone by fairly quickly. In homeroom I had taken the time to nap while the gang chatted animatedly around me, my arms had been hurting anyway and the rest of my classes went by smoothly. Despite having jumped into a new curriculum in the middle of the year, I was able to keep up with ease, I hadn't been an honor roll student for two years straight for nothing. Even p.e. with the extreme coach Gai had been simple. Though he made the class run five laps around the school, it felt like nothing compared to my epic tree climbing the night prior. It was only my second official day, but I felt like I was flying high. Who knew that a group, I had been terrified of meeting could make me feel so happy so quickly?

"A wolf." this answer didn't come as quickly as the others had and as everyone glanced over at me with curious gazes I knew I would have to explain. Even, Sakura glanced up from her guitar wanting to hear my reason. It was pretty amusing what we were doing actually. We were all in an empty classroom together for music class and here we were playing a game of questions. I was almost positive that at any other high school the students would have skipped their last class.

"Why a wolf?" Kiba asked, twitching his head to the side, reminding me of a dog. I giggled at the image of Kiba with floppy ears and a wagging tail. It suited him really.

"I don't really know actually. I've just always like the idea of a pack. A whole family sticking together, maybe its my subconscious wanting for a proper family relationship." I shrugged before adding, "Plus wolves are super strong and fast, I like that."

"That's right, you did paint that wolf on your locker." Sakura said, momentarily stopping her strumming to snap her fingers. I nodded my head.

"It's my favorite theme really. I take it you all have a special animal?" I asked, glancing around at their pendents. Almost automatically and it sequence, their hands all reached up to touch their necklaces. It gave me the feeling that there was a special meaning behind each.

"Of course we do. Mine's a dove." Sakura said, her eyes lighting up. I smiled at her and looked to the rest of them.

"Mines a dog." Kiba said. I nodded though I had already guessed this and let the rest continue.

"Raccoon." Gaara said, _J__ust like his pendent_, I thought.

"A lioness. I just love them." Matsuri said with a bright smile.

"Weasels, there tricky little bastards!"Temari said with a semi-evil grin that I've come to associate with her.

"I would have to say deer." Shikamaru said lazily, his voice muffled, as he was hiding his face in his arms in an attempt of sleep. I nodded my head slightly and moved on looking at Tenten.

"I really do love Panda's. There so cuddly!" Tenten squealed, surprising me a bit and making the rest laugh.

"Strange enough, piglets. I don't care what anyone says they are uber cute!" Ino said, glaring at everyone, daring them to oppose her. When no one said anything she gave a fierce nod and I moved on.

"Crows." was all Kankuro said.

"A hawk." Neji said quietly and I flinched slightly, knowing what he was implying and moved on quickly.

"A cat." Sasuke said simply, catching me off guard. I looked at him questioningly.

"A cat?" I asked and Sasuke nodded.

"I know it's strange, but cats are stealthy and have great vision. Not only that, but they are also very independent." Sasuke said and I started to see why he referred felines to himself.

"Oh. Well what about you Naruto?" I asked him. He had remained quiet the whole time and I was curious as to what was going on in his head.

"Foxes." he said and I nodded my head, this made sense.

"Ah foxes, known for warding away evil." I said, dipping into my knowledge of animal symbolism. Naruto looked up at me and grinned, stunning me. His whole face transformed and it made my heart stop. I swallowed, fighting the blush that wanted to rest on my face. I was not all the way successful and turned a slight shade of pink, but it was better then the brilliant scarlet I would have turned.

"That's right. Not a lot of people know that. Most think foxes are more known for there trickery." he said with his large grin still planted on his face.

"You know, I think that fits you too." I said causing everyone to laugh and Naruto to nod in agreement.

"I'm just so clever." he said smiling and I rolled my eyes. Then I turned back to the rest of the group.

"So why are you all connected to your animals?" I asked, begging for more knowledge.

"Symbolism." Sakura answered simply and I gave her a questioning glance, but it was Neji who answered me.

"It's what each animal represents. Just like how Naruto is like the fox we are all very much like our spirit animals. Sakura's dove for love and devotion. Sasuke's cat, because he is clever and watchful." Neji said and now Tenten continued.

"Neji's hawk for truth and visionary power. Temari's weasel that bears good news and Kankuro's crow reminding not to judge people." Tenten said, letting Shikamaru speak now.

"I like deer because they represent kindness. Tenten likes the panda because they tell you to be bold. While Ino likes pigs because, believe it or not they represent fertility and are known as the Great Mother, so they are more feminine then you would think." Ino nodded her head and joined in.

"Kiba loves dogs, because they represent loyalty, something he was not directly given until now." Ino said, punching Kiba on the shoulder lightly, which I knew was more affectionate then it came across.

"The lioness stands for balance and courage. The raccoon is known for it's resourcefulness." Gaara informed, filling in the rest of the details and I nodded my head in understanding. All of these symbols related to them very well.

"And the wolf, known for it's friendliness, loyalty, and protection from all evil." Naruto said his eyes glinting and I allowed my self to turn a delicate shade of pink this time.

"Like the fox." I whispered to myself, as the conversation turned and my words were lost among the laughing to be unheard by anyone, but my self. Myself...and one other person.


	9. A Golden Fox and A Silver Wolf

**Hey guys. I just want to say thank you to all the people who are supporting my story and tell you that it makes me super happy to ready that so many people like this story. Especially because I put so much of myself into it, thinking about it night and day, searching for new ideas to excite or surprise you guys. So just thank you for reading my story. Here's the newest chapter for you guys. I hope you all enjoy it.**

"Okay, so hold your gun up. Little bit higher...there you go. Now don't look at your gun, always keep your eye on the enemy, unblinkingly, analyze every _twitch _they make. They move a millimeter and you know about it. Got it? Alright, now make sure the safety isn't activated. Good, now aim and...SHOOT!" Sasuke yelled and I pulled the trigger. The force of it was enough to knock somebody backwards, but I held my ground and watched as a bullet hole appeared on the paper man twenty meters from me. Right in the heart.

"Nice one!" Tenten said from behind me and I bit my lip to keep the smug grin from settling on my face. It was now Friday evening and I was at the Funhouse training room. A place I spent more time in then my own house. The Shinobi were brutal and demanded I knew how to shoot a gun by the time the week was over. _Or how bout two days early? _I thought with a smirk.

"Very good." Sasuke approved. I smiled at this compliment from him. Sasuke hadn't been teaching me originally, but he stumbled in on one of my training sessions with Tenten and almost got shot in the thigh. From that moment he took it upon himself to train me personally. I really was grateful for his help. I was positive if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been able to shoot where I aimed for at least a month. Sasuke wasn't called the best for nothing.

"Thanks to you." I said beaming. Sasuke shrugged and gave me a lopsided smirk.

"Well of course. Like you could have ever shot straight without my help. I've created a miracle!" he said mockingly and I glared at him.

"Hey, don't forget who's holding the gun." I said, pointing it at him loosely. There were no bullets in it, but did he need to know that? Just then though, Sasuke had taken the gun out of my hand and was behind me, holding the gun underneath my chin. My heart stopped and I momentarily forgot that there weren't any bullets in the gun. I was frozen, but then just as quickly Sasuke let me go and handed me back my gun. I took it from him with a grumble as he gave another smirk.

"Guess I still got a lot to learn." I said, looking down at the hand gun in my hands. I gave a sigh looking at it. Would I ever be as good as the rest of them?

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're forgetting we've all grown up doing this, you are doing remarkably well for a beginner." Sasuke said, looking over at me and I sighed again.

"I know. I just don't want to feel useless." I replied, slightly downtrodden by this whole conversation.

"You really aren't. Think about that spar with Matsuri the other day. Your hand to hand combat is getting better everyday." Tenten said, joining the conversation.

"I know. I'm just impatient, that's all." I said, smiling half-heartedly at her. She gave me a reassuring smile in return before standing and heading for the door.

"Sorry I have to cut this session short, Neji wanted me to help him with some of his training." Tenten rolled her eyes and winked at me before leaving Sasuke and I alone. I wasn't particularly uncomfortable with this, but neither Sasuke or I were particularly verbose. We both stayed silent for a few moments. It had been a hard couple of days sense that nice Wednesday and the fear I had before was starting to creep back. Naruto had been very rough with everyone and glared at pretty much everything in sight. He was particularly rough with Sakura and Sasuke, but the few glares he shot at me told me that I had something to do with it as well. He had me terrified that if I didn't progress fast enough I would be out of there and then where would I be? Back to square one, all alone in a crowded school. I shivered at the thought of being so lost.

"He's not going to kick you out, you know." Sasuke said suddenly, surprising me. I looked up and over at him to see him cleaning his gun. Sasuke carried around a special hand gun and at a distance you wouldn't be able to see the difference between it and any other gun, but up close you could see carvings along the side. It had a circle with a six pointed star in the middle and it have me the faint impression of it being an eye. It was a symbol, that showed that the gun was only his and I would bet money that he was the only one who had ever shot with it. Sasuke met my eye and set down his gun, resembling it so fast, I was positive he had broken some kind of weapon. He tucked it back into his jeans and turned towards me, holding my eye contact.

"I know what your thinking and trust me he won't do that. He's not going to kick you out. Naruto could never kick one of us out like that." Sasuke said and I sighed.

"Yeah, but I'm not one of you am I?" I asked with slight frustration and Sasuke blinked at me.

"Aren't you?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow up.

"I don't know. I mean, I want to be, but you guys all interact like family. You all _are _one big family and I feel like I'm just some outsider." I said helplessly. Then Sasuke did something I did not expect. He poked me in the forehead. I sat back slightly, staring at him in shock. Did he just...?

"Did you just poke me in the forehead?" I asked in disbelief and Sasuke chuckled slightly and leaned back on the back we were sitting on, putting his hands behind him to keep him up.

"Sorry. It's something my older brother used to do all the time, when I was complaining or upset. He died last year." Sasuke said looking up at the ceiling and it was my turn to blink.

"Oh," I murmured, "I'm sorry. How did he...um. You know." I asked curiously and without looking up Sasuke replied.

"I killed him." he said, shocking me. I stared at him wide eyed. I couldn't even fathom the idea of killing Hanabi and her Sasuke said it so nonchalantly.

"You _killed_ him?" I chocked out in surprise. Sasuke glanced back at me and gave a slight sigh.

"It's kind of a long complicated story. You see, my brother, Itachi, he was the one who murdered my whole family. I had sworn revenge on him and went after him. I used to be so dark...Naruto saved me from the blackness of revenge, but I refused to give up the idea. So, I got stronger and I killed him." Sasuke said simple, but I continued to stare.

"Then, how come you speak of your brother so fondly?" I asked, struggling to understand.

"Well, after I killed him. A retired cop approached me and told me the real reason Itachi killed our family. My family had been planning to take over the whole Fire County and beyond. Old fashion villains with hopes of concurring the world, but Itachi didn't want that to happen. The cop told me how Itachi had decided to help the government by taking down the family. He was supposed to kill everyone, but he left me alive and fled. He chose the life of a criminal for the world over a luxurious life of royalty. He was a good man...a good brother." Sasuke said, still staring at the ceiling as he shared this story.

"What did you do when you found out?" I asked, trying for more information. I knew, I would be mad and I could tell Sasuke had reacted similarly when he gave a dark chuckle.

"I was furious! I wanted to bring down the whole government or at least the police station, but Naruto...he saved me. I don't know where I would be without him." Sasuke said looking back and me with a smile and I stared at him with curiosity.

"What's Naruto's story any way?" I pressed, but Sasuke just gave a laugh and smiled at me. The smile showed on his whole face and I could almost see the Sasuke that Sakura liked so much. For me though, he was only going to be a brother. That I was sure of.

"You'll have to ask him yourself. All I'll tell you is that without him. None of us would have made it. You'll see that this weekend. Sakura said you were staying?" he asked, changing the subject. I nodded my head in reply, but I was still thoughtful. Everyone spoke so highly of Naruto and though I could see he was a man to be respected, I couldn't figure out the admiration they all held in their eyes when they spoke of him.

"Good. You'll hear all the stories then." Sasuke said, standing up and brushing himself off. He held his hand to me and I took it, standing with him. I looked at the gun in my hand and looked around me awkwardly for a second before glancing back at Sasuke who was looking at me in amusement.

"Err.. where do I put this?" I asked with an embarrassed chuckle and Sasuke laughed again and took the gun from me before walking over to the metal dresser , pulling open a drawer, and removing a black strap. He threw it at me and I caught it, looking at it curiously.

"The other girls like putting it around their thigh when they wear dresses and around their waist when wearing regular clothes." Sasuke informed me as I moved the strap other various pieces of my body, trying to figure out where to put it. I smiled at him at put the strap around my thigh, sliding the gun into it's slot. I stood up and let my red flowered dress fall over it.

"Very nice." Sasuke said, with an approving nod before heading towards the door. I watched him go and thought of everything he had told me. To kill your own brother and still be that happy...Naruto must be some kind of miracle maker and yet, I couldn't help, but hope he could do the same for me.

* * *

I stopped by my house about a hour after shooting practice. The house was quiet and I was very grateful for it. I had got off lucky this weekend. No excuses had to be given because my father had a business trip to America for two weeks and decided to take Hanabi with him. Usually this would make me mad, but I would much rather be at the Funhouse this weekend then bored in some stupid motel in the States.

I left it dark in the house and moved up the spiral staircase silently. My heart was pounding as I sneaked around my room grabbing clothes and throwing them in my bag. I wasn't sure why I was so excited by the idea of staying two nights and then coming home and having the house to myself for two week. It was great! I giggled to myself. God, when did I become such a girl?

Taking my bag, I started back down the stairs. My boots making the occasional squeak on the wood. I stepped out the door and locked the door behind me and waiting. Someone was supposed to go get me and I would be lying if I wasn't nervous about who was getting me. I knew it wasn't Sakura, because she told me she had a few things to take care of. Maybe Gaara? No, probably not.

Finally a gold Lamborghini came around the corner and my heart, that had been beating so quickly moments before, stopped. He stepped out of the car, standing at his tall six foot, looking extremely handsome. He was wearing black pants and a nice long sleeve gold shirt with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows and a black tie. I looked down at my casual red flowery dress and black boots, feeling extremely under dressed.

"Err." I said looking at him and back at my sun dress, then back at him. Naruto smirked slightly and gave a chuckle.

"Don't worry about it. Sakura told you she was taking care of things right?" Naruto clarified and I nodded, still looking at him extremely wide eyed. This was _way _too distracting. He must have been able to tell, because he scratched the back of his head, his tell in awkward situations. I turned red in the face and looked away quickly.

"Right, well come on. Sakura and Ino are waiting at the Funhouse for you." Naruto said gesturing towards the car. I was happy to see that at least his cheeks were pink too. I nodded and walked towards the car. Naruto came around me and opened the door for me, surprising me. I raised an eyebrow at him as I stepped into the car. Naruto took a few long strides around the car and go in, closing the door behind him. We sat in silence for a few moments. He didn't even bother starting the car.

"So why are you so dressed up anyway?" I asked trying to move past the awkwardness, whole Naruto turned the keys in the ignition and began backing up.

"We do this every year. It was Ino's idea really. She insists that if we're going to fall apart we should at least be hot messes. Or something along those lines." Naruto explained as he shifted gears and pulled forward. He was a smooth driver, thinking about it, everything he did he seemed to do with ease. _The grace of a fox,_ I thought with an amused grin.

"So why didn't Sakura warn me?" I wondered aloud. The frustration was clear in my voice. Here I was in a simple old sun dress sitting next to a very handsome bachelor. You would never know he hadn't lived a life of privilege.

"Probably didn't want you dressing down." Naruto said. I looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" I asked, suspicion clear in my words. He seemed to pick his next words carefully.

"Er, I just meant that you can be kind of...modest. Sakura and Ino, you might guess, aren't very fond of modest." Naruto explained, glancing over at me to make sure I wasn't offended. Honestly, I wasn't sure.

"Just because they need to strut their stuff, doesn't mean I have to." I grumbled.

"It's not for validation Hinata. They just have the confidence you lack." Naruto snapped at me and I could tell that by insulting Ino and Sakura I had personally insulted him. Never the less, this whole thing still irked me.

"I wasn't insinuating anything! You shouldn't assume make stupid assumptions like that. You know Sakura is my friend. I could have very well been saying that because she didn't know me dress size!" I said stubbornly, but Naruto just snorted as he made a smooth turn.

"We both know that's not what you meant." He said looking over at me with a piercing gaze and I struggled for a retort.

"What does it matter to you anyway?" I shot at him. Naruto just laughed though and the sound of it seemed to deflate the tense atmosphere.

"It doesn't! I never said it did. You were the one who went off on me for explaining _their _reasons. I don't think there's anything wrong with the way you dress. If it was up to me, this whole thing would be done in pajama pants or something." Naruto said, grinning wildly.

"'_Pajama pants or something'_?" I asked in disbelief. He looked over at me, his eyes shining with amusement.

"What? I there comfy and if we all fall apart we could just get drunk and pass out. At least we'd already be in or night clothes." Naruto said with a casual shrug. I continued to stare at him for a moment before laughing with him.

"I guess that would work." I agreed as Naruto finally pulled the car towards the Funhouse. Instead of parking in the drive way he pulled around the house and into a sort of field behind the house. In the field there was a fully built garage, that was open showing the more expensive cars. He pulled in right between a blue Ferrari and Sasuke's black camaro. I unbuckled myself from the car and went for the door handle, but Naruto was already there opening the door for me. I stepped out and he closed it behind me. I looked over at him and rose my eyebrows up.

"What?" he questioned, seeing me look.

"Your a gentleman." I stated as we started walking towards the house. Naruto made a face at me.

"Why is that so surprising?" he asked.

"I don't know." I said with a shrug and Naruto sighed before laughing lightly.

"All of us are like that. If we live with the girls we have to be gentleman, even Kiba. I can assure you that you will never see a raised toilet seat in the Funhouse." he said solemnly and I giggled.

"Really now." I said, letting the sarcasm roll the words into a disbelieving tone. Naruto nodded his head in mock seriousness.

"Never. We'd all die first, which really, isn't to far fetched." Naruto said, his tone turning into one off cheerfulness as we walked down steep stairs towards a door.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that." I said as Naruto now opened the Funhouse door for me.

"And thank you." I said smiling. Naruto flashed me a quick grin and before anything else could be said, he disappeared.

_Alright then,_ I thought awkwardly as I looked around the part of the house I had never been to. Based on the stairs, I could guess that I now stood in the basement. I walked towards another set of stairs, but stopped when I saw an open door. From inside the room, loud pop music was blasting and I automatically guessed it was Matsuri's room. Taking a few steps towards the door, I began to hear voices. Ino's loud soprano could now be heard along with Matsuri's cheerful tone, and Sakura's calm serene words. Hearing their voices I took a couple more steps towards the door now with more confidence.

The three of them didn't notice me standing in the door frame so I stood and watched.**(If you go on my profile, you will find links for all their dresses if you want to get a proper visulization, because I'm not very good at describing dresses! XP)** Ino was wearing a royal purple dress that stopped mid thigh. It dipped into a v-neck to give a slight peak of her breasts, but didn't expose them enough for it to be inappropriate. The dress also went up and crossed at her neck. It fit her body perfectly and was very complimentary towards her. Ino's long blonde hair which was usually in a ponytail was now straightened and down. She had dark purple lipstick on and her blue eyes were surrounded by bold black eye liner. She stood doing Sakura's hair, standing tall in sparkling purple heels.

Sakura's dress actually surprised me a bit. It was pink and black. The top of it was also a v-neck, but the way it was styled was so it looked to be strapless. The top had a black see though material for straps. Around the middle a black stripe wrapped around the waist and down the sides of her dress, which also stopped mid thigh. Sakura had a pink gloss across her lips and black eye liner across her lids in a cat eye. Ino was putting extensions into Sakura's short cherry blossom hair so she could maneuver it into a bun, with Sakura's short bangs falling on the sides of her face. She had her legs crossed carefully, her black stiletto heals on each foot.

Matsuri's dress was red, which, I grinned, was Gaara's favorite color. It was slightly off the shoulder and had quarter sleeve mesh overlay. It was well fitted and hugged her figure nicely in a way I knew Gaara would appreciate. This dress also stopped mid thigh. Matsuri's lips were ruby red and emphasized her straight white teeth. Her brown eyes were surrounded by a dark red liner, that was almost black, and made her eyes look bigger then usual. Her long brown hair was curled and had her bangs pulled back in a bump on her head. Her regular 5'0" was now 5'4" due to her black pumps.

Seeing them all look so beautiful, made me feel a pang of jealousy. There was no way I could ever look like that and looking at their dresses made me nervous. What kind of dress did Sakura pick out for me? I trusted her taste, but it made me nervous to how I would be exposed. _If my dad knew what was happening right now, _I thought, _he'd kill me! _

"Hinata!" Matsuri exclaimed, finally seeing me. I quickly pulled my face into a big smile and stepped forward, returning her hug. It was slightly strange to have Matsuri who was usually shorter then me bend down to hug me.

"Hey!" I said, matching her excitement, bearing any nervousness I had.

"I'm so glad your here! I can't wait to see you in the dress Sakura got you. It's beautiful and I'm sure you'll look great in it!" Matsuri beamed. I gave a nod and smiled, feeling sick to my stomach.

"Hinata's here?" Sakura asked, who was sitting with her back to us as Ino finished up her hair. The chair had been angled so she couldn't see me in the mirror, though I had a perfect view of her and Ino.

"Yup!" Matsuri said cheerfully.

"Well bring her over here!" Sakura said, waving her hand to beckon us closer. We both walked over and Sakura glanced over at me with a bright smile on her flushed face.

"Hey Hinata." Ino said nonchalantly as she slipped another pin into Sakura's pink locks. I laughed lightly at the concentration Ino put into doing Sakura's hair and gave a wave.

"Hi Ino." I said, smiling.

"So, I got this awesome dress for you Hinata. I really think you'll like it." Sakura said, looking at me from the mirror since Ino wasn't allowing her to turn her head.

"How did you know what size I was?" I asked curiously. I had a very tricky dress size do to being so petite in the waist my big breasted. I often had to get my dresses tailored.

"It was actually very complicated," Sakura began and I snorted lightly in agreement, "I had to jump through a lot of hoops to do it. I snuck into your house one night-" I cut her off._  
_

"Wait, you snuck into my _house_?" I asked in disbelief. My house had a very tight security system and even _I_ had to go through hoops to turn it off in my room so I could get through the window on my midnight adventure the other night.

"Well I needed your measurements," Sakura reasoned, before continuing as I shook my head in amusement, "anyway after I got your measurements I went to a tailor, picked out a material for you dress and went from there. That wasn't the complicated part though, I had to do a lot of bargaining to get a reasonable price for the whole thing. I won eventually, of course, but the lady had been surprisingly stubborn." Sakura finished and I laughed.

"Yeah, on the rare occasions that my dad needs Hanabi and I to attend a party with him, it can get very difficult. I prefer to look through my mom's old dresses. She was the same size as me" I said smiling at the thought of my mother's smiling face.

"I saw a picture of her on your night stand," Sakura told me, "you look like her." I beamed at this compliment.

"Thank you." I said graciously and she just grinned at me. Finally Ino stepped back and clapped her hands, claiming everyone's attention.

"There! You're perfect!" Ino exclaimed happily, admiring her work as Sakura moved her head side to side, looking at her hair at all angles, before she stood and smiled at Ino.

"Thank you Ino, it's wonderful." Sakura said with a smile and Ino nodded her head in agreement.

"Your welcome. You know, Sakura, I don't know why you don't let your hair grow out again." Ino told her friend and Sakura just shrugged delicately.

"I love my long hair, but it would just get in the way in this life." Sakura explained.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter. You look good both ways." Matsuri added. Sakura smiled at Matsuri this time before suddenly all three of them turned to me. I gulped slightly

"What?" I asked nervously and they all grinned at me evilly.

"Your turn!" they exclaimed before pulling me towards them.

* * *

The dress was nothing I would have ever picked out. It was silver and sequenced. In two crescent moons on my waist and at the bottom edges of the dress it was see though. The dress stopped mid thigh and the straps crossed in the back. In my ears were two silver hoops, courtesy of Ino. My lavender eyes were emphasized by thin black liner and mascara, with pink lips, and an artificial blush running across my cheek bones, making them look more noticeable. My five two was now a five six in silver pumps, which Matsuri, despite my protests, gave me to keep. My blue black hair was up in a smooth pony tail, with my bangs running across my forehead and the slightly longer parts of my bangs on the sides of my face. I was impossible. They had done the impossible. I was stunning!

"So? What do you think?" Sakura asked excitedly as I continued to stare at myself in the mirror.

"Um. Wow?" It came of like a question, but Sakura took it. She squealed at my approval and high-fived Matsuri and Ino, who stood off to the side grinning. I turned towards them, with my own smile on my face, unable to stay calm in this cheerful atmosphere.

"Thank you Sakura, the dress is beautiful." I told her earnestly. Sakura beamed at me and gave me a hug, which I happily returned.

"This great! I'm sure the other girls are ready now too, so why don't we go see what they all picked out. Shall we ladies?" Sakura suggested, raising an eyebrow with a devilish smirk on her face. We all agreed to this plan and moved out of Matsuri's room and across the hall to Temari's room.

We knocked on the door and Temari opened it with a wide grin. She was wearing a black sequin one sleeved dress that stopped right after her bum. Her hair was up in one bun tonight, instead of her usual four, and her two fans were strategically followed and glanced in her bun like chopsticks, keeping it in place. She wore black pumps and hard dark make up surrounding her eyes, turning them a dark blue. On her sleeveless arm she had a silver and black bracelet around her wrist and a ring on her middle finger. Behind her stood Tenten who wore something much simpler.

Tenten wore a loose white dress that stopped right before her knee. It had a small strap around her waist, emphasizing it a bit and had flowey sleeves. She wore a gold three flowered necklace around her neck and a gold bracelet. Her brown hair, usually held in two strict buns, was loose and had gentle curls in it. Her brown eyes were lined in a cat tail and she had lightly glossed her lips.

"Hello ladies." Temari had the same devilish grin that Sakura had and I was beginning to wonder if there was another reason behind the formalities.

"Oo la la Temari, you look sexy." Matsuri said, developing the same grin as the other two. It made me slightly nervous.

"Why thank you little sister, you don't look too bad yourself." Temari replied with a smirk. Tenten slowly moved past the others so she could come stand by me. She leaned towards me slightly and I leaned in too, hoping she could explain what was happening.

"The girls use this time to show off to the guys. You see, all of us, including me, have a bit of a thing for one of the guys upstairs and we like to use this time to gain their attention. Matsuri had won Gaara's attention before even joining the gang, but I think she just likes looking good for him. The rest of us are still trying though." Tenten whispered to me.

"Oh," I paused, "so who...?" I questioned curiously and Tenten giggled lightly. The other girls were all fawning over each other and gave the occasional laugh to each other. I watched them all interact and smiled before turning back to Tenten.

"It's a bit obvious isn't it? Sakura's been after Sasuke since freshman year and despite all their arguing Ino wants Kiba. Personally, I think their arguing is her way of calling for his attention, she doesn't want him focusing on other girls, but he's kind of oblivious and Temari... well no matter what she says about him, she's been in love with Shikamaru says she joined the gang. That's what the other girls have told me anyway. She'll never admit to it though, so never ask. Other wise you might get punched, you have to wait for her to bring it up. He's so lazy and it drives her crazy, but just like Ino she's just trying to get his attention by arguing with him." Tenten explained to me in a low voice, making sure no one heard her. I turned to Tenten then, realizing it. I gave her a grin.

"Your in love with Neji aren't you?" I asked her, grinning the same devilish grin I had been terrified of earlier. Tenten's face turned red and she soon began trying to protest.

"It's alright, you don't have to pretend you don't, besides I can tell you. You're doing it right. Neji hates over extravagant dresses, like the rest of us are wearing. He'll like how simple yours is." I said approvingly, standing up straight now. Tenten's blush continued, but now it was a bit less red.

"Thanks." she whispered to me and I gave her a genuine smile.

"No problem." I said with a shrug.

Soon enough we all wrapped up and we prepared to go up the stairs, where all of the guys would be waiting. They all began there trip up the stairs before me as I could not bring myself to do it. The nerves in my stomach hit a high point as I thought of who was up there. I thought about what Tenten had said about all of them wanting to gain a certain boys attention and butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I thought about the one boys attention, I secretly hoped to gain. It was a stupid thought really, but at the moment my biggest desire was to walk up the stairs and see his dark blue eyes take me in and enjoy what he saw. Yet, I couldn't make me feet move.

_"They just have the confidence you lack."_

These words rang through my mind and with a lot of effort I managed to put one foot in front of the other and begin my walk up the stairs. I kept my hand tight on the rail, terrified of falling, but the trip was easy. Almost too easy, because I took the last step faster then I had hoped. My new found confidence failed me then. I didn't have the bravery to move another milometer let alone another inch. _Come on Hinata, _I gave myself a pep talk, _you can do this! _Then Sakura's voice rang around the corner and I bit my lip.

"Hinata? Are you coming?" Sakura asked, I could hear the sound of chatter in the background, and I willed myself to at least respond.

"Yeah, I'm coming." my voice came out more calm then I felt and to my relief she didn't question me.

With a gulp, I stepped my heeled foot forward and then the next one. I turned the corner and entered a dimly lit room and I was suddenly frustrated with my sequenced dress. It made me so much more noticeable. Then suddenly another thought went through my head. A thought that sounded so much more like me then the rest of these nervous thoughts. _Why did I care? _Great question, subconscious. Why did I care? I was here with friends, hoping to have a good time while my abusive father and stuck up little sister was out of town. So I asked myself again. Why the hell should I care?

With this question running through my mind, I stepped farther into the room. My confidence and self esteem rocketing upwards once more. Around the room the various gang members stood talking to each other and drinking from the ever classic red solo cup. Sakura had gone to talk to Sasuke, who I noticed, looked extremely pleased with. I smiled at this observation and continued watching everyone. Matsuri was standing with Gaara's arm around her, looking perfectly happy as the two of them spoke to Kankuro. From what I could tell Temari had already started an argument with Shikamaru and I shook my head at her tactics. Shikamaru seemed to pay more attention to her then anyone else anyway and she didn't even notice. Ino and Kiba were dancing to the loud music and I laughed to myself as Ino danced around him. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves. Then in the far corner, sitting down, I saw Neji and Tenten having a conversation about something or another. Tenten looked up and caught my eye and I smirked at her winking, before laughing as she turned a light pink and quickly turned back to Neji. Only one person seemed to be missing.

The suddenly, I felt a hand touch my waist gently and I jumped, before turning my head and looking behind me. Standing in the door frame was Naruto whose eyes showed that he was wildly amused by something. He grinned down at me and without thinking about it I felt my lips tug upwards as well. He cheerfulness was contagious. Taking his hand off me he leaned against the other side of the door frame across from me and he raised his eye brows.

"So, how's it going?" he asked and I had to lean close to hear him.

"It's going good. Sakura has great taste." I informed him and he laughed nodding.

"I know. Who do you think told us all what to wear?" he asked and I had to laugh with him.

"Ah, who else could get you into such clothing?" I asked giggling and he nodded his head. We were both quiet for a moment and I took the time to actually pay attention to what all the men were wearing.

Gaara was wearing a white suit with a red tie that matched Matsuri's dress nicely. Kankuro who stood across from there, wore black pants, and a black coat over a nice white shirt, but had no tie. Kiba had black pants and white dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up. Shikamaru also had his sleeves rolled up, but he wore a green dress shirt with black pants. Neji wore a traditional black suit. Sasuke was wearing a dark blue dress shirt with a black coat and pants. Then Naruto, who stood next to me wore the same gold dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but this time he had added a black tie. They all looked dashing.

"She did a good job." I said approvingly and Naruto grinned at me.

"Of course," Naruto said before adding, "you look beautiful by the way." I smiled slightly at the compliment and allowed a light blush to color my cheeks.

"Thank you." I said smiling.

"You know, we all have a present for you." Naruto said nonchaulantly causing me to look back up at him curiously. His eyes sparkled with mischief and it made me all the more interested.

"What kind of present?" I asked and just then, he pulled a box out of his pocket. He handed it to me and I stared at it.

"Oh are you showing it to her now?" Sakura's voice traveled across the room, despite the loud music, catching everyone's attention. At once they all stopped what they were doing and approached me. They all looked at me expectantly with large smiles. Even Neji's eyes seemed to glow. I met his eye and he smiled lightly in a way that I knew we were okay. It was our parents issues, not ours.

"Well? Are you going to open it?" Ino asked with frustration and I laughed as I undid the black ribbon that was around the box and gently opened the lid.

Inside the box on a silver chain sat dog tags. On one it read my name _Hinata Hyuga _and on the other it said _The Wolf_, which made me smile. Thinking of the conversation from Wednesday. Then I noticed another thing on the chain. There sitting next to the tags was a pendent. It had a crescent moon and stars and right through the middle of the mood was a howling wolf. I looked up at everyone with wide eyes. It was beautiful. Then Naruto gently took the chain from me and undid the clutch. He moved behind me and hooked it so the necklace sat on my chest.

"There. Hinata Hyuga. Welcome to the Shinobi." Naruto said smiling along with everyone else.

**That's the end of this chapter folks and I must say I actually really like this chapter. Now I really do suggest you all go to my profile to look at the links I added so you can see the girl's dresses and Hinata's new pendant. Also here's a preview to the next chapter:**

_Chapter Name: Their Stories_

_"I was disowned by my family. The only people who had to love me, just didn't."_

_ "He was ruthless. He only wanted to get ahead in his career. He never gave a damn what happened to Gaara, Kankuro, and I."_

_"My father left when I was in eighth grade for some slut. It shocked the hell out of my mother and I, but my mother never got over it. About a month before high school started, she killed herself. Leaving me alone."_

_ "No one would believe me when I tried to ask for help and when the truth finally did come out, my family tried to use the publicity to their advantage. They didn't even care what actually happened. So I left."_

_ "I have no recollection of what happened. I was too young to remember any real details. For all I know, I never had a family at all. I just came into being at the age of ten. Only knowing your first name is quite troublesome."_

_ "I watched them die. Do you know what that's like to see your parents, the only two people you have in a messed up world, die?"_

_ "I don't remember anything before sixth grade. I had woken up in an alley, with a killer head ache. I only had the clothes on my back and my first name. That and a blood stained knife."_

_"My mother died from a sickness shortly after I born and my father was murdered, but you knew that didn't you, Hinata?"_

_"Well there's not really much to say about it in my opinion. My brother murdered my whole family, leaving only me alive, and then I killed him just to learn that everything I had believed was a lie."_

_ "Alone. Left alone the day after I was born. Cursed with bad luck that turned everyone on me. I was hated. They all thought I was some kind of demon. A baby! Like I could have possibly wanted my parents to die..."_

_"My mother was killed for leaving a gang. I told you before that it was because she wanted to marry my dad, but she had been pregnant with me. After my mother died, my father changed. I reminded him of my mother and so he turned on me. I am a constant reminder of a woman he loved, but he hates me."_


	10. Their Stories

**Hey, sorry this took me longer then usual, but here it is. Now, I have to warn you that (in my opinion at least) the stories may come across as a bit rushed or irrelevant, but I beg you to bear with me. I did my best to try and explain as much as what was necessary for the story, yet not completely bore you all to death. So I really hope you like this chapter, because trust me on this. It took a lot of work. **

The thirteen of us sat in a circle on the ground, leaving the perfectly comfortable couches empty. It was nearing midnight, but one of us showed an ounce of tiredness. We were all full of alcohol, but the lightheartedness from before disappeared long ago. Though we were all still intoxicated, it had turned into a more serious atmosphere. Now was the time for honesty, yet we all sat silently. All of us girls had our legs positioned to not show anything. I had been smart and grabbed a blanket, laying it over my crossed legs, so as to sit comfortably without showing to much skin. The guys all sat more relaxed, ties had been loosened, and shirts unbuttoned.

"I guess I'll start then." Kiba said quietly and all of our eyes trained on him.

"I was born July 7th, 1995. My life started out like anyone's life did. I had two parents, an older sister, and a dog. It wasn't until I turned nine that everything started to go down hill. It was about half a month into the summer after third grade when I got really sick. My parents had to take me to the hospital where I was quarantined. I couldn't stand to be near people. I could _smell _anyone who gave with in a mile radius. I couldn't stand to eat because of it. How could I? All those smells bothered me. The doctors couldn't figure out why it was happening. I was a medical phenomenon. After a while I got used to all the smells around me and I was able to eat again. People could come close to me without me puking, but people stopped wanting to. The doctors told my family that I was a medical miracle and that they should be proud to have such a remarkable son. Well, my supposed sickness gained a lot of attention from the media. The news followed my whole story. About how a kid had the sense of smell of a dog. My family didn't like this too much. They didn't see it the way the doctors did. They thought I was some kind of freak! So they got rid of me. I was disowned by my family.

"The only people who had to love me, just didn't. So I was kicked out of the house at age nine. I still went to school, but my friends abandoned me. That's when the bullying began. The kids used to throw rocks at me and call me a freak. All I had was my dog, Akamaru. He was all I had in the world, but after about a year of living on the streets the animal control showed up. One day while I was at school they took Akamaru away to the pound. I was lucky, it was a no kill shelter, but I couldn't get him back. I didn't have any money to pay for him to get out and living on the streets that been hard on him to. He had gotten thin because I couldn't feed him properly. So I started to think maybe it was better for him to stay in the shelter for a little while. I planned to get a job to pay to get him out eventually, but I took to long. A family adopted him and I couldn't get him back. My best friend was taken away from me. I tried to convince myself that it was for the better, but the bitter loneliness started to get to me eventually. I became spiteful. It wasn't my fault that I was given such a nose. Middle school had especially been hell. I went the first two years of junior year without any friends. I lived in a box. How cliche is that? I didn't have any other choice though. I used my nose to help me find good food and started stealing clothes from people's houses. What other choice did I have? I didn't have any money to buy clothing of my own. It wasn't until eighth grade that things started looking up. On the streets, word of a five member gang spread. It was strange, I knew those kids from back in elementary. One of them was an old ditch buddy, the only person who hadn't ignored me. In eighth grade the bullying seemed to stop and I knew why. Naruto had put a stop to it. Despite his goofball characteristics, he was friends with Sasuke and Gaara, plus he was tough. He ended the bullying with a few threats and I was free. Then one day, Naruto approached me on the streets. I'll be honest and say I was terrified. I had heard rumors of their gang and I was afraid he had come to kill me, but he did the opposite. He asked me to join the gang and really, who was I to refuse? They gave me a home and they became my family. They saved me." Kiba finished his story, but it remained silent. We all sat watching him. It was dark in the room, so no one could be sure of the expressions on each others faces. I was the first one to speak up,

"Did you ever find out where Akamaru went?" I asked gently and in the dark I could see Kiba smile.

"Yeah. Naruto helped me locate him and we began to plan. We waited until the family was out and broke into the house. At first Akamaru didn't recognize me, but he looked so happy once he did and I knew it was all worth it. So we snuck him out of the house and brought him back to the original house. He's been with me ever since." Kiba said, smiling.

"So where is he then?" I asked curiously. Kiba's grin grew once more and he let out a whistle before waiting. After a few moments though, scuffling could be heard on the floor above. Institutionally I looked up, even though I couldn't even see the ceiling in the dark, but soon enough a big white dog bolted down the stairs and ran straight to Kiba. Despite, being so big, the dog turned around and promptly sat on Kiba's lap.

"This is Akamaru. You haven't seen him around lately, because he's been doing some research." Kiba said scratching his dog behind the ear.

"Research?" I wondered aloud.

"Akamaru, is a very smart dog and extremely well trained. He's very helpful to the gang." Naruto explained and I nodded, even though no one could see it in the dark. After a few moment's Akamaru stood back up and hopped on to the couch behind Kiba. Laying down, Akamaru laid his head off the couch and on to Kiba's shoulder. I had to admit it, it was adorable.

"I guess I'll go next for the three of us." Temari said, making a gesture that was invisible in the darkness, but I assumed she was gesturing to her brothers, which sat on either side of her. All of us clamped our eyes on her dark salute and waited for her to begin.

"Let's see. Well, Kankuro was born May 15th, 1994 and my birthday is August 23rd, 1995 and Gaara was born January 19th, 1996. Now I know what your thinking. How are we all in the same grade? Simple, Kankuro was held back and Gaara, being the genius he is, was brought up a year. Anyway, mom died giving birth to Gaara. The death of mom changed dad a lot and he became cruel. He was ruthless. He only wanted to get ahead in his career. he never gave a damn what happened to Kankuro, Gaara and I. You see. We were born in Suna and as you may have heard is that Suna has a strict rule about the amount of children you can have and well, mom broke that rule when she got pregnant with Gaara. The villagers turned on Gaara. They all hated him and I'd be lying if I said Kankuro and I had been any better. In the beginning we were terrible siblings to him. We had blamed him for the death of our mother. How could that have possibly been his fault? He didn't ask for it. If anything we should have been horrified. Horrified that he never got to know his mother." Temari's voice thickened here and in the dark Gaara grabbed her hand.

"Eventually, dad decided that we were holding him back in his political career and he kicked us out, but not before a couple of beatings. After leaving the house hold from hell we moved to Konoha. We had been in fifth grade when it happened. I have to say moving to Konoha was the best thing that could have happened to us. Gaara met Naruto and Sasuke in sixth grade, and they made the impact that we had been unable to. They changed him for the better and joined the gang. We joined soon after do to necessity, but I think Kankuro would agree that it was the best decision ever. We met all of these great people, who knew the same pain we did and they became our family and freshman year, Gaara met Matsuri. Of course that had been difficult at first, but I think we can all agree that it was a good thing in the end. So that's our story cut short." Temari finished and I nodded my head. I _did _know that pain.

"Well I'll go now." Matsuri said in a serious voice that did not suit her. I turned my attention to her with the rest of them and just listened to what she had to say.

"I was born on February 14th, 1996. I was also moved up in school do to my grades, so that the explanation for that. Well, my father left when I was in eighth grade for some slut. It shocked the hell out of my mother and I, but my mother never got over it. About a month before high school started, she killed herself. Leaving me alone. You can ask anyone that when I entered Konoha High, I was a mess. I knew my mother had been depressed, but I had never thought that she would take her own life and when she died it was like she had taken both of our lives. She didn't leave a will behind either, so all the money she along with the house went to my dead. I had been furious. It _still _pisses me off knowing that the selfish bastard was living in the home I grew up in with a new wife and a new baby girl. He even had the gall to show up at my mother's funeral. So I punched him in the face in front of everyone and do you know what he did? He charged me with assault! His own daughter, whom he _abandoned! _I was so angry...but I used that anger kept me going. It kept me from falling into the same depression that killed my mother. Then, something amazing happened. I know, I'm about to sound like a character from a really awful romance novel, but every word is true and I'm not the least bit ashamed. Obviously, I had become a Special with all you lovely people, but I think we can all agree that I was a little...obnoxious. Still, even though I wasn't automatically friends with all of you, you all accepted me and all my anger. Then eventually one person started talking to me. That person, you can all guess, was my awesome boyfriend Gaara. He understood my anger and hurt and eventually I fell in love with him. I knew he was apart of a gang and our relationship caused a lot of problems. I pushed ahead though and learned how to hot wire a car faster then anyone else. I even conquered my fear of guns. Now here I sit, among-st my best friends and family." Matsuri completed her story and her white toothed smile could be seen, before her lips were captured by Gaara's. Silence filled up the room once more as no one was willing to share their story. I was full of curiosity though. What had these people gone through? Who were these people I sat with?

"My birthday is September 23rd, 1995. I guess I'll come right out and say it. In seventh grade I was rapped by the science teacher Mizuki." Ino's voice broke through the silence and I'd be lying if I said that I believed everything she said. Ino being rapped seemed impossible, but I knew she was telling the truth and it made me extremely sad.

"No one would believe me when I tried to ask for help and when the truth finally did come out, my family tried to use the publicity to their advantage. They didn't even care what actually happened. So I left. I had been filled with so much hatred for everything that happened. I had been made out to be an attention seeking liar. A spoiled brat who didn't know her place. Yet, when the everyone found out I had been telling the truth, did I get an apology? No. It was to be something unspoken of. My parents were simple people and so they basket in the fame that came out of the whole story. They forgot all about me, even once I left they swam in the fame that came from a missing daughter. The cops are the only ones who actually attempted to find me. My parents didn't bother. Think of all the people who paid attention to them, all of it would be gone if I returned home. So I let them keep their fame. They could have it, but I refused to be a part of it. At school, few people had stuck by me. Sakura had been the only one who had believed me and stayed by my side. She was the one who introduced me to Sasuke and Naruto. The gang saved me from my bitterness and I became extremely invested in it. I trained along with Sakura and became a medic along with her. I'll admit that I'm still better, but I don't let what happened to me get in my way. It's in the past and all I plan on doing is live in the moment." Ino finished, her words firm. I smiled at the thought of forgetting the past and living in the moment. It was a nice thought...

"I guess I'll go now." Shikamaru's lazy drawl rang out almost at once. I attempted to look for his figure in the dark only to find that he was laying down on his back.

"September 22nd, 1995, if you want to know my birthday. I'm not sure anything happened at all actually. I have no recollection of what happened. I was too young to remember any real details. For all I know, I never had a family at all. I just came into being at the age of ten. Only knowing your first name is quite troublesome. I was able to figure out a bit of myself by going to the hospital and asking for the records. As you can expect it took a lot of convincing. What kind of hospital would just hand over records to a bratty little kid? I was able to find my birth certificate, which told me my birthday and my full name. It didn't help much though. Luckily, I met a kid who seemed to know me. His name was Choji and he helped me fill in a bit of the blanks. Where I went to school and a bit about my past. The troublesome thing is that Choji didn't know anything about my parents. All I could do, was stay with him and go to school. Despite not having any personal knowledge, school was easy. I knew how to read, write, and do math. It was all easy. So I used my time, taking naps. I entered the gang around the same time Troublesome Temari did. I am great with strategies so I was useful to them and besides, being in the gang felt like being in a family. I wasn't really sure what that felt like it, but if I had to guess I would say it was this. Guess I go attached, because I don't plan on leaving any time soon." Shikamaru said and I tried to contemplate the thought of waking up one day and not knowing who I was and where I came from. It made me shiver.

"I can go know." Sakura's quiet voice broke through the darkness. She sat on my left side and I could feel her shaking. I turned my head towards her to see a dark figure with her knees tucked to her chip and her arms wrapped around her legs. The image broke my heart.

"My birthday is March 28th, 1995 and I watched my parents be murdered when I was seven years old. We were just going for a trip through the town, but a man noticed my mothers expensive ring and my fathers watch. He shot them both dead in front of a crowed full of witnesses, took the ring and watch and ran off. I watched them die. Do you know what that's like to see your parents, the only two people you have in a messed up world, die? When it happened, I hadn't registered it right away. I guess it had been shock or something, but I do remember when I had realized what happened. I cried for days and days. Suddenly everything my parents had ever done because important to me. I regretted ever feeling any anger towards them and prayed every night to wake up from the nightmare. Eventually the cops took me to my aunts, but she was a drunken widower who didn't give a damn about me. I leaned to take care of myself since my worthless aunt couldn't and I became too mature too quickly. Making friends also became hard. I was the weird girl with a big forehead and no parents. Not a seven year old's version of a friend, but I didn't care. I was too absorbed in my mourning. Life went on of course and the next year, there was another kid who was like me. News of the Uchiha Massacre spread and suddenly I wasn't the only one left alone. I attempted to make friends with Sasuke, but he didn't want anyone's help and he was very reserved, so I gave up. Thinking back on it, he did that same this I had done to Naruto. All of us were alone, but we never became friends. Not until the fifth grade. I left my aunt's house in favor of the streets where I moved around with Naruto and Sasuke, but it wasn't until sixth and seventh grade that the idea for a gang came to Naruto's mind, but in a way we already were. They were my family. They accepted me for who I was. They knew what it felt like to be pushed aside or be left alone. To be trapped in the hell of loneliness. They understood me and promised to help me in my vow for revenge. The man who killed my parents had never been caught and I planned to kill him with my own bare hands. I trained in hand to hand combat more then anything else and also became a medic. At first the revenge was all I cared about, but then the need for it slowly faded and I became normal again. Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino helped me find myself again and for that I will always be grateful. I told you, Hinata, when we first met, do you remember? That as long as I stayed positive I could do anything. My parents would have hated seeing me so full of bitterness and anger, so I trained myself to help me. I became a medic so I would never have to see the people I love die in front of me again. Never." Sakura whispered and I leaned over, pulling her into a hug. She accepted the hug without struggle and I could feel her wet cheek on my shoulder. After a while Sakura pulled away dabbed at under her eyes lightly with the blanket before giving a watery chuckle._  
_

"Thank God for water proof mascara, huh?" she said and despite everything all of us had to give a light chuckle to her words.

"I'll go next." Tenten said from across from me. Her white dress made it slightly easier to notice her in the dark and my ears zeroed in on her.

"I was born March 9th, 1995. That was one of the few things other then my first name that I remembered. I don't remember anything before sixth grade. I had woken up in an alley, with a killer head ache. I only had the clothes on my back and my first name. That and a blood stained knife. To this day, I still don't know whose blood was on the knife, but I still don't want to know. I had enough knowledge to know that I needed to enter school. So I forged my own records and entered middle school. There I met Neji who became my best friend, despite the stick that had been stuck up his ass. You could ask anyone that I had carried a weapon on me from the moment I had woken up. I cleaned the knife and I kept it with me no matter where I went. That and a gun. I lived on the streets alone, but I like to think I did just fine by myself. It wasn't until the middle of freshman year that Naruto approached us. I wanted to join the Shinobi right away. I knew what it was like to live on the streets and be tormented by the Akatsuki and I wanted to help bring them down in any way I could, but Neji had been more stubborn and I didn't want to join without my best friend. After Naruto had knocked some sense into Neji though, we both joined and we've been here ever since. I still don't know where I came from, but honestly it doesn't really matter to me. I have all the family I need right here." Tenten said finishing with more ease then anyone else.

"I was born July 3rd, 1995." Neji started and I felt my stomach drop as he began, "My mother died from a sickness shortly after I born and my father was murdered, but you knew that didn't you, Hinata? My father was killed to protect Hinata's father, who you may or may not know is the head of the Hyuga Corporation, the company that is in charge of medical research based on the human bodies nervous system. There are two branches of the Hyuga, the main branch and then the Branch family. Hinata and I's fathers were twins, but Hinata's father was born just a few minutes before mine. The Branch family is is charge of keeping the Head family safe and my father gave his life so he could protect the Main Branches head. All because my father was born just a few minutes behind her's. I had been bitter, I'd be lying if I had said I had moved on from it completely. I do not think I will ever be invested in the Hyuga Corporation as I once was. Not after losing my father to them. After both of my parents had died, I did not go to the streets. The other Branch families took me in and I stayed with them until freshman year. It was the first year at Konoha High when many things changed. As Tenten had said, we've been friends since middle school and also as she said I did not want to immediately join the Shinobi. I thought they were a group of undisciplined children who needed to be put in there place and as Tenten grew closer to them, I became afraid that she was also going to become like that. So I confronted Sasuke, thinking _he _was the leader as he had been the one to train and recruit us and by doing this I pissed of quite a few people. Including Sasuke's best friend Naruto. About a week after I confronted Sasuke, Naruto showed up, blocking my way to my locker." In the darkness I could hear Neji's voice change as he smiled lightly. "I told him to get out of my way and of course he didn't. I had been having a bad day and I moved to hit him, but Naruto was much faster then me and flipped me on my back. After a severe beating, he left me laying on the floor to think. I will never forget what he said to me, '_Just because you've had a hard life doesn't mean others haven't. That's what we're trying to prevent! So when you find the strength to get up and be a real man, come find us.' _Those words had pissed me off, but they did make me think. I had spent all my time blaming fate, instead of taking control of my own life. So I listened to the words and I got up and went to find them. They taught me what it was really like to struggle and about to Akatsuki who killed families. They told me I could help people have better lives then I did, by helping to stop the Akatsuki. So that's what I'm doing here. Struggling to move past my bitterness and look towards the future. These people are my family now. That's all there is to it." Neji finished and in the dark I saw a dark figure lay her head on Neji's shoulder. Tenten. It made me smile.

"I already told you a bit about my story Hinata, but I guess I could go into a little bit more detail. It's a bit...disturbing." Sasuke stated somewhere in the dark, but based on his voice I could guess that he was on the other side of Sakura.

"I was born into the Uchiha Company on July 23rd, 1995. If you were to ask a normal pedestrian about the Uchiha, they would tell you that they were the lead family in the study of enhancement of the human eyes, until the tragic massacre. If you ask someone from the streets, though, you would here a different story. Of how the Uchiha _Mob _had been brought down by the heir. Well there's not really much to say about it in my opinion. My brother murdered my whole family, leaving only me alive, and then I killed him just to learn that everything I had believed was a lie, but I think we all know there is more to it then that. Let's see. I was seven years old when the massacre happened. I had been so lost and so confused. How could Itachi do such a thing? There was nothing that made sense to me. Why did he keep me alive? I had thought it was so I could kill him, but that hadn't been it. I had been obsessed with the thought of my brother's demise. I couldn't think of anything else. Another thing was that, being brought up as an Uchiha had caused me to have a bit of a superiority complex. I needed to be better at everyone at everything. This went to everything I did. Whether it was school work or work with a gun, I needed to be the best. That was how I met Naruto. Naruto and I had gone to school together even before the massacre happened, but we had never associated with each other. I thought he was annoying and loud. I couldn't stand to be around him, if only because he stole attention away from me and it pissed me off. Even after the massacre, that didn't change much. We still hated each other, but we had come to more of an understanding. We were both alone in the world, we understood each others pain. It made going to school more bearable, knowing that that I wasn't the only one who would be walking home alone. No matter how twisted that sounds and I'm sure Naruto would agree with me.

"It was strange though, because around fifth grade our rivalry officially shifted from our stiff understanding to friendship. I have no idea how it happened, but I think it had something to do with seeing each other live on the streets. I think I had gained his respect from not using my money, but he had certainly gained mine when I saw him fight on the streets for the first time. He hadn't had the training I had, but he fought just as well as I did. I had to give him my respect for that. I hadn't expected him to become my best friend though, but then again. Did any of us expect to be here a few years ago? I can't really say much that happened, if only because it all flew by so quickly until eighth grade. By that time we had gained Sakura, Ino, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and Kiba. Which is pretty much already half of us. We definitely had our ups and downs, like when I started dating Ino and Naruto dated Sakura. All the fights we had all got in to almost tore us all apart, but you can't tear apart family. What can I say? These people saved me from the obsession of killing my brother. Though, they were unable to completely wipe out the idea. I trained to get stronger and they all helped me do it, though only Naruto had known why I had been working so hard. I had confronted Itachi numerous times before I was able to kill me. Those confrontations led to me having a broken arm and a one week coma. Then finally, everything went down. It was last year, spring break of sophomore year, when we all had been going to a movie. None of us had expected to see the Akatsuki there. When we walked out of the theater is where we saw them and Itachi. Almost as soon as we saw them all of us brought out a gun. It was the biggest shoot out any of us had ever heard of let alone taken part of. Towards the end of the fight all of us were out of bullets and many of us were injured. That was when the real battle began. It was Naruto and Pain, Shikamaru and Hidan, Gaara and Deidara, Sasori and Sakura, Kakuzu and Kankuro, Kisame and Neji, all the girls but Sakura against Konan and then Itachi and I. Not to mention Kabuto who had been hanging around watching. Itachi had definitely done a lot of harm to me, but I had done equal harm to him. We fought for an hour before I had managed to stab Itachi in the chest with his own knife. He died, but not before poking me in the forehead and apologizing, but I hadn't known why until afterwards when the ex cop had approached me and told me everything. I had been in shock for days after that, unable to really except the reality of everything that had happened. After talking to the cop, I left the alley I had fought Itachi in and went to see everyone else. We were all torn up, but Hidan, Deidara, Kakuzu, Sasori, Itachi, and surprisingly Pain had all been brought down. That still left Kisame, Konan, and Kabuto alive though. Not to mention Tobi, Jirobo, Karin, Kimimaro, Sakon, and Ukon who hadn't been there. The Akatsuki members had all gotten away and we all were seriously injured. I had been horrified at what I saw after walking out of the alley. It had been like when I had walked into the Uchiha compound to see everyone dead. Shikamaru, Matsuri, Ino, and Kiba seemed to be alright, but the rest of us were fucked up.

"Gaara was knocked out and loosing blood quickly, Sakura had a serious wound in her side and was also loosing a lot of blood, Neji had a bullet in his arm and had broken a shin, Kankuro had been lucky with only a broken nose, Temari and Tenten had a few cuts that needed stitches, and Naruto was no where to be found. That terrified me the most. Had I lost my both my brothers in one night? Luckily we had found in a few blocks away, but he was in terrible condition. He was knocked out from loss of blood that was pouring out of his stomach at an alarming rate and he had a fractured thigh. We all thought he was going to die. Stupid really, I should have known that Naruto wouldn't go down so easily. Soon an ambulance came and rushed us all to the hospital. If it wasn't for Tsunade we would all probably be locked up. We were all in the hospital for a long while. We were lucky that Tsunade had decided to keep the school closed for two more weeks. Coming up with an excuse of the students staying with the family to get over the 'tragedy' of the shooting. We were all terribly depressed though. Most of us haven't had pleasant experiences in hospitals and we weren't happy being stuck in one. Kankuro, Kiba, Tenten, Temari, and Ino all stayed in the hospital with us for most of the days, keeping us company. It was very different once we all go out though. I was a little depressed after uncovering the truth about Itachi, but after a while school picked back up and things went back to normal. I reminded myself that I still had a family and that not everything was lost. Plus all of us needed a little bit of rehabilitation after the shooting. So the training took my mind off of what happened. Now here I am, a year later, still moving forward." Sasuke finished, leaving my mind spinning. It was such a sad story and I couldn't help the tears that had fallen down my face as he told it. His story had also triggered a memory, I had remembered coming home to hear about a mass shooting that had taken place at the local Cinema on the news. It had been horrifying and to think they had been a part of it.

"Wow." I whispered, taking the whole story in. It was at that moment that it hit me how _strong _these people were and the stories weren't even over yet, but what could be worse then that? I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but I still had stories to hear and I still had my own story to tell. I glanced over at Naruto in the dark. Even in the dark he seemed like a rock. Unmovable. It was silent for the longest time before any sound resonated around the room again. I wondered briefly, if anyone was going to speak at all or if I was going to have to go.

"I was born October 10th, 1995. My birth had not been altogether pleasant. I came into the world like anyone else, but the normalcy had only lasted a day. The day after my birth, when my parents went to take me home was when everything went wrong. They hadn't taken five steps out the hospital doors when they were brutally murdered. My mother had fallen backwards with me still safely in her arms. I had laid there crying in my parents blood for an hour before a nurse finally came out and saw me. She had taken me back inside the hospital, but she had been terrified of me. Back then Konoha had been very superstitious and my situation wasn't a lucky one, they thought maybe I had something to do with it. Then, not three days after my parents murder, the hospital burned down. Many people died in the fire, but the nurse who had picked me up hadn't. She had screamed my tale to anyone who listened, saying I was a demon. Born from the devil himself. Alone. Left alone the day after I was born. Cursed with bad luck that turned everyone on me. I was hated. They all thought I was some kind of demon. A baby! Like I could have possibly wanted my parents to die... They sent me off to an orphanage to live, but my story had already been told. No one wanted anything to do with me. I was left alone most of the time. Even as a baby, I was left to cry until the sound became to unbearable and they would finally come to change a diaper or feed me. I stayed there for a long while, being abused by the older kids and the orphanage workers, but being so young I couldn't do much about it. Once I was old enough, I took my things and ran as far away as I could from the place. I didn't expect anyone to come looking for me and I was right. It made it an easy get away. I still went to school everyday though, despite being ignored. I had to go, that was the one thing I knew for sure. It was the only way to get me out of such a terrible world. I lived on the streets after leaving the orphanage. Being so young, I was an easy target, always getting injured by gang members, or hit by civilians claiming I was some kind of demon. It wasn't until I met someone very special that everything changed.

"His name was Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, an old three man gang that had ruled the streets. The fact that there were only three of them just proves how strong they all were. Jiraiya, or Pervy Sage, as I call him, was kind to me. He took me in and trained me. He was the one who had taught me how to fight, I actually _had_ done some training, despite what Sasuke says. Pervy Sage taught me how to hold a gun, throw a knife, and make a weapon out of anything at my disposal. Once I had mastered everything Jiraiya left to go back to traveling. I don't know how I could have ever survived without him. Before he left, he had given me some money to get more proper clothes and to eat. In a way he had saved my life. A few years later, I met Sasuke. I'll be honest. I hated him, he was arrogant and I wanted to bring him down with all my might, but at the same time I wanted to be just like him. To be great at everything without trying, to be cool, and get all the attention he did, but then the massacre happened. I am ashamed to admit I had been slightly happy. Not at the deaths, but because there was someone else like me. I didn't feel quite so alone, knowing that, like Sasuke said, I wasn't the only one walking home alone. He still acted aloof though and it continued to bug the shit out of me, but around fifth grade we _did _become friends. We understood each other more than anyone else could and it was comforting to finally have someone who would have my back. Life on the streets had continued to be hard though. I was still beaten quite often, no matter how hard Sasuke and I would fight them and that in the end was what brought the idea of a gang. We wanted to, in a way, start up a family. We wanted to help people who had known the same pain we had. Along with this though, we wanted to put an end to the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki ruined peoples lives. They destroyed families for fun, burned down buildings just to cause a panic, and murdered for the exhilaration. It drove us crazy. So we decided we would have to end it ourselves. Sakura had been an original member along with Sasuke and I. She didn't have parents either and I think I was drawn the that. Knowing she had suffered the same pain Sasuke and I had. She also shared the understanding that pain had brought, which made us allies and friends. The original name of our gang when it had just been the three of us, had been Team Seven, but the name changed as time went on and more people joined. I wish I could say I was shocked by how many people had been through so much pain, but living on the streets causes you to see multiple horrors and the stories in the room are just a small portion of a pain the hangs over the whole world. I do my best to try and protect the people who are here in Konoha, but as you can see this doesn't always work out. I have to say that the gang didn't seem _real _until Temari joined. That had been brutal seeing as she had been attacked. It was the first time, we all had actually fought for each other and afterwards it was when everything being serious. We were a gang and our goal was to take down the Akatsuki. As you can probably tell, this is easier said the done, but it has to be done. After everything that had happened, they need to go down. That had become essential to me as soon as they did the unthinkable. There old leader, Pain, had killed my sensei. They killed the Pervy Sage.

"That fact still horrifies me. He had been my mentor, the first person to actually give a damn about me and they had murdered him in cold blood. I had been furious and so sad. Revenge blossomed into my mind as soon as I was able to think straight. I planned to kill Pain. This took so much training and I wasn't sure I was actually going to live to do it, but as you can tell from the story Sasuke told, I did it. I killed the Akatsuki's leader and Jiraiya's murderer. This had satisfied me in many ways. Knowing that Jiraiya was now at rest soothed me, but also knowing that I had left the Akatsuki without a leader sent a thrill through me. I had set them back several feet and my side, The Shinobi, had suffered no casualties, but after a while more grief came. I had killed someone. This may come as a slight surprise to you Hinata, but last year had been my first time taking someone's life. I had fought many people, but to have the power to end someone's life... It completely changed me. You can ask anyone in the room. It's something I hope you never have to do and that is why we want to make you a spy, because you have become a friend and none of us want you to deal with that horror. Never. I couldn't wish it on anyone. Especially someone who belongs in my gang." Naruto ended in a whisper. His voice was pleading with me and it yanked at my heart strings, hearing him sound so sad. It was not something I was used to hearing in his voice. Anger, stubbornness, happiness, and playfulness I knew from him well, but not such suffocating despair. It did not sound right in his voice and I wanted nothing, but to soothe his agony.

"Okay." I whispered back, thankful that he was willing to kill again so I wouldn't have to. That they were all willing to do so. Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed mine and I looked up in surprise to see the dark figure of Sakura, smiling at me sadly. I looked back into her eyes and took a deep breath, searching for my courage. It was my turn now. They had all trusted me with their stories, now it was time I did the same.

"Um, well, my birthday is December 27th, 1995, to start off. I don't think I have much to say about my life." I started off, my voice quiet, but it rang through the room as if I had shouted. They were all listening to me intently.

"As the heir to the Hyuga, I have lived a privileged life, but it has never been what I wanted. My mother died when I was young and it tore my whole family apart. My father can no longer look at me straight in the face anymore and my sister, Hanabi follows my father's example. My mother was killed for leaving a gang. I told you before that it was because she wanted to marry my dad, but she had been pregnant with me. After my mother died, my father changed. I reminded him of my mother and so he turned on me. I am a constant reminder of a woman he loved, but he hates me. Not only this, but he blames me for her death. Stating firmly that if she had not become pregnant with me, that the gang would have disbanded on it's own and that she would have never been killed. It is this anger that he takes out on me." I paused for a moment, swallowing the lump in my throat. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share anymore, but Sakura once more touched my hand and I built up my courage again.

"My father, if you can call him that, is not a very good one, I guess you could say. He does not think I am worthy of the Hyuga Corporation, so he has decided to give it to Hanabi, despite her being younger then me. When he did this, he basically disowned me, but that does not stop him from taking full control of my life. He is the one who had me moved to Konoha High in the middle of the year. He said it was for his job, but he can work from anywhere. I believe he did it to keep control over me. I was beginning to find happiness and so he decided to take it away from me, like everything else in my life. That is why I am so quiet. One word or action out of line and he raises his hand. He does not even know I am here right now. My father is currently on a business trip to the States and he took Hanabi with him. If he knew I was hear, I don't know what would happen, but it wouldn't be pretty. He is part of the reason I am here. To get away, to take control. I...I admire all of you and all of your strength. I want to be able to be like all of you, so willing to face your fears so selflessly for others, despite the wrongs that have been done to you. I want to be like my mom, who took control of her life, despite the consequences. So I ask you to help me on this journey, because you have all taught me so many lessons already and I am so tired of being afraid of my own life." I said the last sentence louder then the rest do to the emotion in my voice, but despite how much I meant all of it, there was still a magenta blush that no one could see over my face. I was not used to being so honest.

"He disowned you?" Neji's voice came out so hollowly it scared me and I nodded, before I realized he couldn't see me and gave a verbal affirmative.

"And here I accused you of being a spoiled brat..." Neji said, guilt filled his voice and I frowned.

"You didn't know Neji, you have all the reasons in the world to be angry at the Main branch." I said, trying to make him feel better, but I wasn't sure if it worked as he was suddenly quiet.

"Does he hit you Hinata?" another voice jumped out of the darkness and it was so severe it scared me. It took me a second to realize that it was Temari who had spoken, but I refused to answer, which was as good as an affirmative. I didn't want to admit it, afraid they would make a coward out of me, but no scorn came.

"You can't stay there." Kiba's voice broke out for the first time since his speech, surprising me and all around the room I could hear the murmuring of agreements.

"What?" I asked, unsure of what was going on.

"Hinata, tomorrow. Temari, Tenten, Matsuri, and I are all going to go to your house and help you pack alright. We have plenty of the free space over here, so don't worry about that okay? Your going to stay with us. Okay?" Sakura told me and I looked over at her figure to see she was leaning close to me. At first I didn't know what to say and even after a few minutes no words came to mind, only tears to my eyes. I lifted my hand and whipped them away.

"Thank you." I said, "Thank you so much."

"Of course Hinata. What did we tell you? You're one of us know." Temari's voice was the most gentle I have ever heard it. Then I heard someone get up and with in a few seconds the lights blinked on. All of us winced at the sudden brightness, but our eyes adjusted soon enough. All of us stood in a wave and I found that everyone was looking at me with sympathy.

"Why are you guys all looking at me like that? Your stories are all worse." I told them earnestly and they all gave dry chuckles in return.

"It just means we share your pain Hinata." Gaara said, speaking to me directly for the first time since I had met him. I looked at him and suddenly broke out into a smile, which he returned lightly. Then I gave a huge yawn and Sakura chuckled.

"Come on Hinata, you can sleep in my room with me." Sakura said, smiling at me and I nodded tiredly. All of us all stretched and headed for the door in unison, but I stopped suddenly remembering something.

"October 10th?" I asked Naruto, who looked at me in surprise before nodding grimly. I frowned slightly before turning around.

"Happy Birthday." I told him, not looking at him, assuming he didn't want the attention. Behind me, I could sense that he was watching me as I walked after Sakura, who was already a flight of stairs ahead of me, while the others had already departed, but Naruto grabbed my wrist surprising me. I turned around to see him smile lightly at him, then did something that threw my whole being off guard: he kissed me lightly on the forehead.

"Thank you." he said, before disappearing. I stared at the spot where he had once stood, lightly touching the spot where he kissed me with my fingers tips. It was a few minutes before I could move again, but once I did, I seemed to float all the way up the stairs. My mind still too frozen to function properly. It wasn't until I got all the way to Sakura's room that I unfroze and laying on the floor I stared at the ceiling, knowing he was right above me in the attic. Then, I spoke, with the slightest whisper, making sure Sakura didn't hear me.

"Thank _you_. For trusting me." the whisper was barely heard or felt as it left my lips, but I wanted it out. For the world to know, that I was grateful for everything that had happened in my life, because it had led me to these people.


	11. Breakfast before Revenge and Lunch After

My eyes opened, staring at the sky. The sun was just beginning to rise and the light filtered through the glass ceiling, waking me. It was because of the glass ceiling that I always woke with the sun. I didn't mind this much though, it gave me a sense of peace. Rising out of my bed, I gave a wide yawn, and stretched, enjoying the crackling of my bones. I stood up, standing in only my boxers. I headed to the dresser and grabbed a few items of clothing before hopping down into Sasuke's room. Sasuke still slept soundly and I managed to tip toe out of his room without waking him. There were two bathrooms on the upper level. One for Sasuke and I and another for Sakura...and now Hinata as well.

I padded into the boy's bathroom to turn on the shower. I striped from my boxers and immediately stepped into the shower, despite the water still being cold. I shivered under the freezing water until the heat finally picked up. I scrubbed at my hair and skin for a few moments before stepping back out, I was never one to take long showers. Grabbing a towel, I rubbed my hair, drying it the best I could before getting dressed. I pulled a plain orange t-shirt over my head and stepped into black skinny jeans. Next I pulled on a black pair of socks then put on my shoes: orange converse. I didn't bother glancing in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and heading down stairs.

The Funhouse was silent, as everyone was still sleeping. No one would be awake for at least another two hours and I planned on taking the time to think about everything that would be happening today. Hinata was going to be moving in and though, this would not help Hinata's cover, but I couldn't help but feel slightly excited by this idea. At the same time though, I felt angry that that this whole thing was necessary. Why couldn't just one of us have a normal life? Especially her, she was nothing but kind to everyone, she did not deserve to be treated the way she was. My hands tightened into fists and I had to force myself to relax, she was going to be just fine once she moved in. She would go through no more pain. Not while I was around to prevent it.

I walked into the kitchen, which was filled with finished beer cans and empty bottles of wine, and sighed. Walking over to the kitchen sink, I opened the cabinet, pulling out two large trash bags. One for recycling and one for regular trash. Snapping the open I started throwing beer cans into one bag and empty chip bags into another. After I had filled up both bags, I tied them both up securely and went to carry them out to the back, where there was a giant waste bin. I walked around the corner and nearly jumped out of my skin at who I saw. Hinata stood there, still dressed in her dress from the night before. Only now her hair was pulled up in a high, messy, bun, and her make up was smudged around her eyes, but she looked fully awake and if I was being honest...very attractive.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" she questioned, whispering, afraid to wake up the others. I continued staring at her for a moment before nodding an affirmative. Hinata nodded in return before gesturing to the bags in my hand.

"Need some help with the clean up?" she asked, smiling at me and I nodded, thankfully. Hinata easily took the lighter, recycling from me and followed me out the door towards the trash bins.

Once we were outside, we were able to be as loud as we wanted, but both of us remained silent. It was a content silence though, neither of us bothered. I appreciated her company as she was not quite as pushy as the other girls. Maybe it was because she was completely different from any of them and that was what I liked about her so much. A fresh personality to the group.

"Do you always get up this early?" I wondered aloud, causing Hinata to look over at me as we headed back towards the house. I glanced over at her to see her give a nonchalant shrug.

"Sometimes, I haven't in a really long time, but I heard you get up." she explained and I frowned slightly. No one ever heard me get up, I was well known for that.

"Good ears." I told her and she smiled at me, causing my frown to turn back around as I grinned back at her automatically.

Both of us slipped back into silence as we entered the house. We both walked back into the kitchen, where I grabbed another trash bag, ready to attack the living room. The both of us walked into the room as saw that food was scattered everywhere along with where cans and wine glasses. We glanced at each other, grimacing at the task ahead.

"I got the kitchen if you got it in here." she whispered to me and I nodded before grinning at her.

"Last one done has to make breakfast." I challenged her. Hinata looked over at me in surprise, before her lips turned up in a competitive smirk.

"Deal." she said and we shook on it. Almost immediately I pounced for near by trash, while Hinata lunged towards the kitchen. It was _on_.

* * *

I stood back, looking at my work, and smiled triumphantly. The living room was not clutter free and even seemed to sparkle in its new found cleanliness. The pillows on the couch had been straightened, the video games packed away in the cupboard by the tv, the balloons popped and other wise, were all disposed of, and any and all food had been thrown away. The windows were clear of any muck, the table lay bare, the carpet had been vacuumed, the picture frames straightened, and the room dusted. Not only that, but I had done it in record timing. There was no way Hinata could have beat me. I turned around, ready to go break the news to Hinata only to see her standing directly behind me. Once again, I jumped in surprise, but instead of apologizing this time, she chuckled.

"God! Don't _do _that!" I told her, as my heart attempted to slow back down, but Hinata only giggled once more.

"I win." she said bluntly, a proud grin on her face and my heart sunk.

"Really?" I asked and she nodded her head, before waving a hand, gesturing for me to follow her. We both walked into the kitchen and I almost gasped at what I saw. The white kitchen counters were cleared, the floor had been mopped, the dishes cleaned and out away, the plants all watered, the refrigerator had even been cleaned out! This was not cleaning, this was a miracle.

"How the hell did you do this?" I asked, my mouth gaping as I looked around the kitchen in shock.

"I am a master at cleaning the kitchen. Not only that, but there was a competition involved." Hinata explained easily, her smile widening as I continued to stare around the room. Finally, I snapped out of it, shaking my head to clear it.

"Wow. Nicely done." I said, impressed. Hinata once again smiled at me, but this time it was sweeter.

"Here, I'll help you make breakfast." she said, turning towards the cupboards, but I waved her off.

"No, a bet is a bet and you won fair and square. I'll make breakfast, you just sit down at the table." I told her firmly. Hinata hesitated for a moment before obeying and walking over to the table, taking a seat.

Nodding my head, I walked over to the cupboards and pulled out the pancake mix. After taking out a clean bowl, I poured the mix in before fetching some water for it. Using the whisk, I twirled my wrist quickly around the bowl, mixing the water and the power together. While I did this, a pan sat waiting on the stove, warming up. After I was done stirring I poured a bit of the batter into the pan, enjoying the sizzling sound it made upon contact. I set the bowl back down and waited, a spatula in hand. Soon enough a few bubbles started to appear and I easily flipped the pancake over. This time I walked over to the fridge and pulled out fresh strawberries and other various fruits. Setting them down on the counter briefly, I lifted the first pancake and set it onto a plate, repeating my earlier process. In tandem with my cooking pancakes, I sliced and chopped at the fruit, dropping it all into another bowl. After all the fruit had been cut and I ran out of batter for the pancakes, I began to set up a station. I pulled out all of the plates and set the down on the counter, with knives and forks set next to them. After the china was set, I places the pancakes, then the syrup and butter. After that I placed down the bowl of fruit with a spoon, for scooping it out. After I was done with this I put my dirty whisk and bowl into the sink, where Hinata bounced over to clean them again. Once everything was done, it was six a clock and everyone had begun to wake up. Now all of the members of the Shinobi stood in line, holding a plate, waiting to get their meal. I waited in the back with Hinata.

"Wow." she said causing me to glance over at her curiously.

"What?" I asked, when she didn't say anything.

"I'm just surprised that you can cook." she said, elbowing me lightly. I stuck my tongue out at her and continued forward.

"Why is that so surprising?" I asked, taking a few pancakes, lathering them with butter and syrup, and fathering some fruit on top of it.

"I don't know. You just have the whole 'cool, tough, gang leader' thing going. I just didn't expect you to act like such a house wife." she said teasingly. Around us, the rest of the Shinobi all ate, watching us with amusement.

"House wife!" I scoffed as Hinata took a bite of pineapple. I pretended to vent my anger, by stabbing at a strawberry, but Hinata just giggled. I smiled one last time, before I fully devoted my self to the meal. I grinned to myself as I swallowed. Damn I was good.

"So, Hinata. After breakfast I was thinking we could go get your stuff, is that okay? Plus, I'm sure you want to change out of that dress." Sakura said, eyeing Hinata with amusement. I looked up from my breakfast just in time to see Hinata shrug indifferently.

"The dress isn't to bad, but yeah a change of clothes would be nice." Hinata agreed.

"Who is all going to get your stuff anyway?" I asked curiously, wondering how many cars we would need. My curiosity only increased though when Hinata's cheeks turned red.

"Um, we might need a few cars." she said, embarrassment coloring her tone. We all looked at her.

"I have a lot of clothes.. you see." she hurriedly explained, but Tenten just laughed.

"Don't worry about it Hinata, we'll work something out to get your stuff." she said soothingly, but suddenly Hinata froze, with a grin covering up her face.

"What?" all eleven of us asked in unison.

"Well, I haven't been shopping in a while..." Hinata trailed off, but I didn't see where she was going with this, although one glance at the girls told me that they had understood perfectly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Neji asked impatiently.

"You see, my father always leaves a credit card in his absence for emergencies and it's not like it would throw him off _too _much." Hinata said, her smirk dripping with malicious intent and at first I didn't understand, but suddenly what Hinata was suggesting hit me.

Hinata's father was not going to be home for weeks. He also had left a credit card in his absence. Hinata was in desperate need of a life style change and some revenge. A grin grew across all our faces as the ideas swarmed all of our minds. Oh yes, today was going to be a good day.

* * *

I unlocked the door to my old house swiftly, letting the Shinobi swarm in behind me. The only reason we were here was to get my school supplies and things of sentimental value. The rest was staying where it would be forgotten. Not only this, but we needed the credit card and frankly, I had no idea where it was. That's why I had brought the best investigators in Konoha.

"Damn, Hinata. This place is huge!" Kiba said looking around in awe, Akamaru panting happily beside him in agreement. I gave a dry chuckle and nodded.

"Yeah, well my father likes to flaunt his money around." I told him, as I headed for the spiral staircase, Sakura and Matsuri in tow. The rest had already scattered around the house in search of the credit card.

Adrenaline was racing through my blood as I barged into my old room. Everything was the same as the way I had left it the night before, but everything had changed. I was a new person. No longer was I Hinata Hyuga, the quiet obedient child. Now I was Hinata, a proud Shinobi. The chain around my neck was proof of that. Immediately, I headed into my closet, grabbing the biggest duffel bag I could find. I pushed all my shoes into it, unable to part with them in the end, and only grabbed a few of my favorite shirts and dresses. After, I quickly changed into a more comfortable set of clothing: a pair of white ripped skinny jeans and a navy v-neck. Leaving my closet, I picked up my backpack, full of all my school supplies, and grabbed all the pictures I had in the room. I kept my ipod, holding it close to my chest, and a few sketch pads, the rest was to be left behind. Sakura and Matsuri appeared then to take my bag, which I gave over easily. I gave a brief look around the room, indifferently and was about to leave when I remembered something. Taking my black iphone out of my pocket, I cleared everything on it, and set it on dresser, where my dad would find it eventually, when he tried to call me after noticing I had disappeared.

Leaving the room, I shut the door behind me, happily. On the floor below me, I could hear the Shinobi all talking. The sound of it made me smile. I walked down the spiral stares and grinned at them. They all grinned back and I rose an eyebrow in question. Unwilling to speak, fearing everything would disappear in a poof of smoke. I looked at all of them questioningly until my eyes landed on Naruto. He smirked at me and held up two fingers, where a blue plastic card as held. Unable to help myself, I surprised everyone by jumping at him. Naruto caught me easily and I hugged him tightly before blushing and letting go.

"Sorry." I mumbled, but Naruto just grinned at me, his own blush filling his cheeks. I glanced around at everyone and gave a nod. All at once we swept out of my father's house. This time I didn't bother locking the door and I threw the keys in the trash.

All of us headed towards the cars we had all taken. I was in the car with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Behind us was Neji, who had Tenten, Shikamaru, and Temari. Then Kankuro, with Gaara and Matsuri, both looking irritated that they were not driving, and finally Kiba and Ino who were already bickering. Naruto pulled out first, as he was the one who would be leading, because I was in the car telling him where to go.

"Where to my lady?" Naruto asked, a wicked grin on his face and I smirked.

"The mall. I am in desperate need of a new wardrobe." I said, and I looked in the rear view mirror to see Sakura winking at me. Next to her sat Sasuke, who looked incredibly amused by this whole thing.

If I was being honest I would say how overwhelmed I was feeling at the moment. In not even 24 hours had I disobeyed my fathers orders of staying home, got drunk as hell, woke up at four in the morning to clean, formed a plan of revenge on my father, and had actually gone through with it. Honestly? I was freaking out. I couldn't shake the feeling that everything was going to go horribly wrong and I was terrified of being caught. If there was anyone who scared me, it was my father.

I took in a shaky breath, trying to calm myself, when I felt a hand on my knee. I looked over to see Naruto watching me carefully. As though he knew what I was thinking, he gave a reassuring smile. A smile that was unlike the wicked grin that meant not good or the self satisfied smirk, I had seen through out the day, but a real smile. It was delicate, tender, and it made my heart stand still. Just seeing that smiled calmed me. My shaking grew still and my breathing even out, but his hand on my knee was like fire on my skin. Once he saw that I had regained my composure, he took back his hand, and looked back over at the road. Then, I was only in shock. How did he do that? Why was I so calmed by his touch and the sound of his voice when just a week ago he had scared me shitless? It was unfathomable, but I was grateful for it all the same.

The drive to the mall was smooth from there. Then panic had eased and was now replaced by a great sense of relief. I was free! Finally free from the curse of holding the name Hyuga. My father could no longer bother me and I had a new family now. It filled me with exhilaration. The suddenly, I gave a loud laugh, surprising Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. They all looked at me, probably thinking I was insane, but instead they laughed along with me. We all laughed continued laughing, until Naruto pulled into the mall parking lot, but even then we kept laughing for a few minutes. By the time was had calmed down, all of our faces were flushed and our abs hurt. Grinning, I opened the door and stepped out seeing the rest of the Shinobi all looking at me curiously, but I waved them off, heading for the mall entrance. All of the girls fell into step with me and we all linked arms, while the boys stepped behind and watched us.

We all walked into the first boutique we saw. All around me were bright colors and I loved it. Gravitating towards the skinny jeans and bright colored shorts, the other girls went towards various things. I picked out five new pairs of short shorts, despite it getting cold. A lime green pair, a sky blue pair, a maroon pair, and a gold pair. Quickly after that I picked out as many skinny jeans as I could find of all colors. Blue, green, red, yellow, purple, black, pink, white, and regular denim. It wasn't like I couldn't afford it, I thought to myself, grinning. I walked over to the other girls to see what shirts they picked out, ready to veto the things I didn't like.

Sakura had picked out a t-shirt from my favorite band that said "Without Mayday Parade I'd be Miserable Best" I grinned looking at it and automatically paired it with my pink skinny jeans. Ino had brought me a black pair of leggings and a dark blue over the shoulder sweater, that would also go great with my white skinny jeans, so I took it. Tenten had come to me baring a white t-shirt that had a red rose on it, after deciding it would go well with my red skinny jeans, I kept this as well. Temari brought me a silver tank top, but seeing as it _was _nearing winter I vetoed it. Matsuri came next holding a blue pair of flats and a black silky tube top. Figuring it would look good for any dates, I also took this, but after I headed straight to the counter to check everything out. All of us watched as the clerk swiped the credit card and held our breaths, but nothing happened and I took the card back along with several bags.

All of the guys were waiting outside the store for us and Naruto surprised me by taking my bags. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he only shrugged. So I thanked him and we all continued to the next store.

The next store I didn't bother looking for jeans, I figured I had enough, but I did look for hoodies and more shirts. This store was slightly bigger then the last one, so it took a lot longer, but it also had a dressing room so I was able to see what shirts would fit me better then others. Unfortunately despite the large size of the store, none of us were able to find anything other than a white v-neck and a cream colored quarter sleeve shirt. We continued, moving like this from store to store, for a while until Naruto's arms were over flowing with bags. I took pity on him and suggested we all stop by the food court for lunch and as we walked there my giddiness once more arrived in full, but instead of laughing I started humming.

"Man. I just feel like singing." I said aloud and the Shinobi all looked at me, smiling.

"So sing." Sasuke said simply, but I rolled my eyes.

"Well what do I sing?" I asked, continuing to strut across the mall like it was a runway.

"Whatever you feel like." Sakura said and I thought for a while before suddenly breaking into song, despite how cliche that sounded.

"_No attorneys. __To plead my case_" I started glancing over at Sakura with a smirk on my face as the girls all whooped at me song choice.  
_ "No opiates. __To send me into outta space, __And my fingers, __Are bejeweled_" I held out my fingers, wiggling them with a few rings I had just bought.  
_ "With diamonds and gold __But that ain't gonna help me now_" By now, my singing was attracting quite a lot of attention, but no one shushed me and soon the other girls joined me to sing the chorus.  
_"I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I disturb my town_  
_ I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_"  
_"You think your right. __But you were wrong_" I sang this line, thinking of all the strict rules my father had pushed upon me  
_ You tried to take me_  
_ But I knew all along_  
_ You can take me_  
_ For a ride_  
_ I'm not a fool out_  
_ So you better run and hide_

_ "I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_  
_ I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_

_ If you see me coming_  
_ Down the street then_  
_ You know it's time to_  
_ Go (and you know it's time to go_  
_ cause here comes trouble)_

_ No attorneys_  
_ To plead my case_  
_ No opiates_  
_ To send me into outta space_  
_ And my fingers_  
_ Are bejeweled_  
_ With diamonds and gold_  
_ But that ain't gonna help me now_

_ You think your right_  
_ But you were wrong_  
_ You tried to take me_  
_ But I knew all along_  
_ You can take me_  
_ For a ride_  
_ Cause I'm not a fool out_  
_ So you better run and hide_

_ I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I disturb my town_  
_ I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_

_ So if you see me coming_  
_ Down the street then_  
_ You know it's time to_  
_ Go (go-oh-oh..I got)_

_ Trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_  
_ I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_

_ Trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_  
_ I'm trouble_  
_ Yeah trouble now_  
_ I'm trouble ya'll_  
_ I got trouble in my town_  
_ I got trouble in my town_  
_ I got trouble in my town_"

I finished the song, with a grin and was surprised when the people of mall clapped and turned slightly red. I put my face in my hands, embarrassed that I had just sang out like that in public. Naruto pried my hands away from my face though and I looked up to see him grinning at me. I gave him a wobbly grin in return before plopping down into a chair of the mall's cafeteria.

"Got to love Pink." Temari said, also sitting down, with her own weasel smile planted on her face. I nodded in agreement. Pink always wrote the best songs and 'Trouble' was only one of many.

"Really appropriate too." Kankuro pointed out as he pulled out his own chair. The rest of the girls all sat down while all of the guys, but Kankuro went to get us food. All of the guys returned soon, all bearing different foods. Sasuke had gotten himself and Sakura two soft pretzels, Shikamaru had gotten two slices of olive covered pizza for Temari and himself. Kiba had gotten himself a burger, but gave Ino a salad, while Neji and Tenten were both eating hot dogs and Gaara and Matsuri shared a cinnamon bun. Then Naruto, surprised me by setting down a big bowl of ramen in front of me. I stared at it for a second before my face broke into a wide smile.

"I love ramen!" I exclaimed, picking up my chop sticks, barely noticing the way everyone had froze, staring at me. I took a big bite of some noodles, slurping them with out a care, and it wasn't until I swallowed that I noticed everyone staring at me in disbelief.

"What?" I asked, slightly annoyed by their stairs.

"You like ramen?" Sakura asked, her jaw so low, I was afraid she'd catch flies.

"Yeah why?" I asked, not seeing what the big deal was, but everyone's gazes all flashed to Naruto's face before all shaking their heads.

"It's nothing." Tenten said smiling at me with a knowing smile, I was quite able to understand. I turned my gaze to Naruto, questioningly, but he continued to watch me, an unreadable expression on is face.

"Don't worry about it Hinata. We are all just enjoying watching fate at work." Neji said, with a grin similar to Tenten's. I turned my attention to him, growing frustrated.

"What?" I asked, growling slightly in irritation. It was only then that Naruto snapped out of it and gave me a smile.

"Don't listen to them. They just don't understand us ramen lovers." he said, waving everything off with his signature big grin, before attacking his own ramen. I nodded my head, still suspicious, but I let it go. Not bothering to question why the others continued to smile at me as I scarfed down my meal.


	12. William Shakespeare

I pressed a finger to my lips, the universal code for _shut the fuck up! _We were back at my house, but it was evening now and the neighbors were more likely to hear us then they were this morning. The bags from today's shopping were all packed away in the cars and so we had returned to the house to return my dad's card. I wanted him to check the transactions and know what I did so we needed to put the card back where we found it. The shopping from today had cost my father over two hundred dollars and I was very smug about this. Though at the same time, I felt kind of selfish. Maybe I should have have used the money to help people or something. Maybe give everyone in the company a raise, but it was too late for that now.

Sakura took the card from me and disappeared into my dad's house to return the card to it's secret hiding spot. The card had been meant for emergencies, so why my dad hid it was beyond me. Maybe he secretly hoped an emergency would come up and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. My father had lived to punish me, maybe this was just a part of that, but that's why we had taken the card in the first place. To get back at him for all the hell he caused me through out the years. It almost made me angry, knowing that I had only set him back a few feet rather then the miles, I had been aiming for.

That's when it hit me. The greatest idea that had ever entered my mind appeared to me like an epiphany. It stopped everything around me. I froze where I stood, with an evil smirk growing on my face and settling there. I could tell my sudden stop had attracted the attention from the other members of the Shinobi, but none of them said anything, stopped by my growing grin. Oh man, I was a genius!

"Hey Gaara." I said, still staring forward, not focusing on anyone, my voice airy.

"Yeah?" Gaara asked, looking slightly worried. I chuckled slightly at this.

"How far is it to Suna?" I questioned, as my idea continued to grow and take form in my mind. Hopefully my calculations were correct.  
Gaara cleared his throat.

"Depends on what car your driving and how fast. Why?" Gaara asked curiously, but I just nodded my head and began moving towards the door that led to the garage. Behind me, I could sense them all exchange glances and move to follow me. Good, I would need all of them so I wouldn't have to explain twice and fast because my idea was now solid and I did not want it slipping away from me.

In the garage sat a beautiful car. A beautiful and _expensive _car. A car, my father took great pride in. He would murder anyone who so much as looked at it, but I didn't plan on looking at it. Oh now, I was going to drive this sucker til it ran out of gas, which I hopped would be in Suna. Why Suna, you may ask. I say Suna, because it is a desert land. I was going for stranded in the middle of no where. It was the perfect location to leave my dad's car. The object of his affection and attention. Pulling this off, would be my way of telling him that family is more important, but more then that I wanted to _hurt _him. Make him feel the same pain he had enforced on me, but what he had done to me was worse. He had given me years of abuse and all I was planning to do was leave his car stranded. We would be no where even, but it would get his attention and that's what I was aiming for.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked, trying to gain my attention. I turned to him, my smile dropping from the evil smirk it was into a sad one. Then, reaching over to the hook, I took the keys to my fathers 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe. This car sold for millions of dollars and that is why my plan was so devious. I threw the keys at Naruto who caught them, before looking at me wide eyed.

"You can drive me to Suna." I said, turning around to look at him. Naruto, at first, looked confused, but this was soon followed by comprehension as he grinned. He sure did catch on quickly.

"Alright, but we'll need someone following for when we run out of gas." Naruto told me and immediately Sasuke and Sakura stepped up, surprising me.

"We'll go." Sasuke offered and I smiled at him, nodding my head.

"But what are the rest of us going to do?" Temari asked, frustratingly and before I could open my mouth to respond, Tenten stepped in.

"We can decorate Hinata's room." Tenten said with a smile and automatically the other girl's eyes lit up in excitement.

"I love interior decorating!" Matsuri said, grinning widely as the other girls nodded in agreement. I smiled lightly at them, thankfully. Pushing the button to the garage door, the heavy metal door began to rise, letting the setting sun, shine through the darkness. Naruto and I quickly got into the car, while Sasuke and Sakura headed towards Sasuke's car. Everyone else was getting into various cars. Gaara and Matsuri got into Naruto's car, because he wasn't there to drive it home himself. Soon enough, all but four Shinobi members were gone, driving for the Funhouse.

* * *

At first we were both quiet. He was busy driving while I was preoccupied watching the city lights flash by. It was a beautiful thing to witness. After a while, we left the Konoha city limits and the road emptied out and the side of the roads became bare. It was then that I no longer had an excuse to be silent. Behind us, I could see Sasuke and Sakura laughing and talking, which caused me to feel slightly jealous, despite all the excuses I gave them such as having known each other forever.

"I hope they get together soon." Naruto said suddenly, breaking our silence, which relieved me greatly.

"They do look good together." I agreed, and Naruto nodded, before shaking his head and laughing, spiking my curiosity.

"What?" I asked curiously, not understanding what was so funny.

"We've all be waiting for those two to get together sense Sakura and I broke up." Naruto explained. I looked over at him so fast my neck hurt, but I ignored it.

"Sakura used to be your girlfriend?" I asked in shock. That was a relationship I did _not _expect.

"Yup. Sasuke and Ino used to date too. We dated all through eighth grade, but those relationships were never supposed to last. All of us were too much like siblings, I think, but that never applied to Sasuke and Sakura. Though, that might be because they liked each other even before the gang started, but Sasuke would never admit to that. He's kind of a hard one to understand, Sasuke." Naruto explained.

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. I mean, I've known Sasuke longer then anyone else and understand him more then anyone else, but I'm his best friend, that's kind of my job. I think the reason Sasuke is so hard to understand is because he's so reserved. He doesn't talk as much about what he's feeling and whatever _is _going on inside that head of his doesn't even show up on his face. Though, if you think this is bad you should have seen him before the gang got together. He was just like a robot, really." Naruto said, shaking his head as if trying to get rid of the memory.

"Wow." I said, but Naruto just shrugged.

"That's just the way Sasuke is. I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain, but what can I say? He's my best friend." Naruto continued and I nodded my head.

"That's really cool that you guys just understand each other like that." I said, a smile on my face. I wish I had someone like that.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome to know that someone has your back. You know?" he asked, glancing over at me, but I frowned and shook my head.

"Not really, I've never had a best friend."

"What? Seriously?" Naruto shouted out in shock and I grimaced slightly.

"Well, don't you worry Hinata, you have plenty now." Naruto said, smiling at me, and once again I had to smile back. His happiness was contagious and it amazed me to think that this was the same Naruto as the black faced emotionless one I had first met. It made me curious to what else was going on inside of his head.

"I don't know you." I said suddenly and loudly, causing him to look over at me with a confused expression.

"What?"

"I mean, I know your name and life story, sure, but I don't know _you._ I don't know your interests or opinions or anything like that. Really I don't know anything about any of you." I explained, biting my lip. It was true, if these people were my friends, I wanted to know more about them.

"Oh, well huh." Naruto said, sounding perplexed and I went silent for a moment, thinking. What could we do to get to know each other? I didn't think either of us wanted a long drawn out story like last night, but there had to be _something_.

"I have an idea. Why don't we play questions. I'll ask you a random question, you'll answer, and then you'll ask me a question. Deal?" I asked, looking at him, proud of this idea. Naruto nodded his head and laughed, his eyes lighting up slightly.

"Alright." he said, looking amused, but I ignored this and turned around in my seat, so I had my back to the door and was facing him directly. Hopefully this wouldn't throw off my thought process too much...it probably would. For a moment none of us said anything and I just continued to look at him, while he kept throwing glances my way.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you going to start?"

"Was I supposed to?" he asked bewildered and I blinked.

"I don't know. Was I supposed to?" I asked.

"I don't know!" he cried and then suddenly both of us were laughing. God, we were so awkward! The both of us continued laughing for a few more minutes before we finally calmed down.

"Alright, I guess I'll go." I said after a moment. Naruto gave a nod of affirmation and I sat, silent. What could I ask?

"Er, what are the two groups that you were selected in that made you a special?" I asked finally, but Naruto did not answer right away. His facial expression was deliberate and thoughtful, but he did not say anything. He stayed silent for so long that I began to worry. Was that a too personal a question?

"It wasn't just two groups." he said after a while, relieving me of my worry, only to have it replaced by curiosity.

"What do you mean?" I questioned curiously.

"I mean that I wasn't just in two groups. I'm an Artist, an Athlete, an Ace, and a Fixer." he explained and I stared at him wide eyed. _He _was the person Principle Tsunade had spoken of? I wasn't quite sure why this was so surprising, but it was. Maybe because I had figured that this person had long since graduated. It shocked me to know that he was in the same car as me and yet, it made perfect sense.

Naruto was a performer. Any instrument he picked up he could play beautifully, plus based on his locker, he was a great painter, it was not shocking to know that he was an Artist. He also had great aim and could wield any weapon placed in his hands, not to mention his hand to hand combat skills so being an Athlete was also not surprising. Not to mention that fact at how much of a genius he is. From what I have seen so far, every move he made was well thought out and calculated, he examined everything carefully, so him being an Ace made complete sense as well. He also wants everything and everyone to be okay all the time. He takes care of every Shinobi member without a thought. He even places me, someone he just barely met before himself, so he was most definitely a Fixer. What was strange is that I hadn't figured it out before and to think I was supposed to be part Ace.

"Wow." I said finally, getting over my shock just as quickly as it had come. Naruto spared another glance at me.

"Why? Is it surprising?" he asked curiously and I laughed, shaking my head.

"No not at all! I'm just shocked I hadn't figured it out before!" I said giggling and Naruto soon chuckled with me.

"Yes well, it _is _pretty rare." Naruto agreed.

"Rare? Tsunade said that you are the only one to have ever scored all four before!" I said, amazed that he was trying to wave it off so easily, but Naruto just shrugged.

"Yeah I guess, but it doesn't really matter much. The whole test is rigged anyway." Naruto said. Now _this _surprised me.

"What?" disbelief colored my tone.

"Oh, I forgot you didn't know that. Well, anyway, yeah. The whole test is rigged. You wouldn't know this, but Tsunade is full fledged gang member as well and not just that. She is the Hokage, the strongest gang leader in the Fire County. That's not the point though. Tsunade became the principle to help protect teenagers. She's completely on our side and does everything in her power to help us bring an end to the Akatsuki. She even runs the local hospital." Naruto said, but I frowned, still perplexed.

"But what does that have to do with the exam being rigged?" I asked, waiting and listening as Naruto once again dove into a lengthy explanation.

"Only part of it is rigged, really and that is the part that decides if you are a Special. Though, I guess you could say that even that is not really rigged. Does that make sense?" Naruto asked, looking over at me as I shook my head and he sighed.

"Alright, well let me put it this way. If Tsunade decides you are a Special, she is suggesting that this person should be a Shinobi." Naruto said finally and I stared at him.

"Wait, so she knows about the Shinobi?"

"Of course she does. I told you she's the Hokage, right? Well, before that she was part of a legendary three man gang called the Sannin. They were dangerous for only having three people, but that's not really the point either. What I'm trying to say is that Jiraiya, the Pervy Sage, had been one of the Sannin. So Tsunade knows all about me and the gang through him." Naruto paused, to see if I understood and when I gave a nod, he continued.

"So basically, the test was never rigged until we all came along. We were a surprising bunch you see. Typically there aren't more then a couple Specials per year and yet here all thirteen of us are, in the same grade! It was a strange phenomenon, that through Tsunade for a loop. Honestly, even I don't understand how all of it happened. I mean think of the chances of that! Rolling a dice _thirteen _times and coming up with a six every time is completely crazy and yet not impossible." Naruto said, his voice showing excitement and I tried to hold back a grin at how much of an Ace he was acting like at that moment.

"Okay, so why is it rigged now?" I asked.

"Well after this strange occurrence happened, Tsunade did some digging and that was when she found out about the Shinobi. Once she did find out, she was proud. She cares every bit about peace as the rest of us, so she tries to help us in any way she can. So if you become a Special now, it's because she thinks you have the unique potential to help us on our journey to destroying the Akatsuki." Naruto finished.

"Oh." I said, thinking this over. I guess that _did _make sense. Wow, Lady Tsunade was a genius.

"I feel like I made that whole explanation more complicated then it needed to be." Naruto said with a slight frown, but I laughed.

"A little bit, but that's alright. It was fascinating." I said and Naruto smiled.

"So I guess it's my turn?" he asked and I nodded, anticipation and wariness flooding through me. I wondered what kind of question he was going to ask...

"What's your favorite flower?" he pondered aloud and I blinked before giggling slightly. What a simple question!

"A moon-flower." I answered with a smile, thinking of the pure white beauty they held. They were one of the flowers my mother used to plant outside my window and outside in her garden along with other various flowers, all equally as beautiful, but none quite like the moonflower.

"A moon flower?" Naruto wondered and I my smile widened. Yes, not many people have heard of them. It was sad really.

"They are very rare, but getting one is so worth it. I love them more then any rose." I said dreamily, enjoying the thought of being given such a flower.

"Wow, that's awesome. You'll have to show them to me or something." he said and I smiled, nodding my head.

"Your turn." he told me and I giggled lightly, he was just as excited by this game as I was.

"Okay, um. What is your fondest memory?" I prodded and I knew I asked a good question when Naruto broke into laughter after a few minutes of thought.

"Oh God! Alright, alright. Well, last summer the gang and I decided we were going to go camping. We had everything planned out. We bought the tents and sleeping bags, we even got a bus so we could all ride together. It wasn't until we got there that everything went wrong though. Somehow, Kiba ended up loosing the keys, after getting a grab of chips from the bus. Well, this wasn't very good because the bus had all our stuff in it and it was locked, so we couldn't get to anything! Even worse, it started to rain." Naruto paused here and I sat, staring at him.

"How is that a good memory?" I wondered, starting to think he had gone crazy on me, but Naruto just laughed and rose a finger, telling me to listen. Outside the car, the sun had disappeared and it was now dark. I knew we were going to be running out of gas soon, but the success of my revenge was not even a thought in my mind at the moment.

"Okay, well after a while we all started to get hungry so we all split up in search of food. After a couple of hours we all met back up at the campsite, but only Tenten had found anything: berries. Now I know what your thinking. How could we just eat some strange fruit we found in the middle of the forest? Simple. We were starving. Luckily, the berries weren't poisonous, but they did make us, well...insane. As you can imagine, being high out of our minds on this weird fruit, all of our thought of death increased ten fold. Soon enough all of us were bawling our eyes out and making confessions. All of the others were finally confessing their love for one another while I was apologizing for all the pranks I had ever pulled on anyone, when suddenly. Kiba cries out." Naruto once again puts a break in his story as I howl with laughter. I could see where this was going.

"Kiba had the keys in his pocket the whole time! We were all _furious_! At him for loosing the keys and at each other for all the things we confessed for. Plus they were all extremely embarrassed. All of us packed back into the bus and had Gaara drive us home. Which was extremely stupid thinking back on it. None of us were fit to drive in that state, but we all got back alright, thankfully." Naruto finished, but I frowned.

"But wait. If they all confessed to each other, why do they still act like this?" I asked, perplexed. Naruto grinned then and I could tell that it was a grin of irony.

"Because they don't remember any of it." he said and I stared at him, shocked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that they don't remember any of it. The only reason I remember it is because I've been drugged up before. Also an accident!" Naruto said hastily pushing on as I rose an eyebrow, but I just laughed. Oh you had to love irony.

"I think they still remember bits of it though. They _have _all been slightly different towards each other." Naruto said and before either of us could continue the conversation the car began slowing down. We both looked at each other, with slow evil grins growing on our faces as the car eventually came to a full stop. Naruto moved to take out the keys, but I stopped him before turning around and blasting the air conditioner and the radio.

"Let the battery die." I told Naruto and he grinned at me just as Sasuke and Sakura stopped behind us. Though I was grateful to finally get my revenge I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that it was all over. Naruto and I hadn't even got past three questions! Despite this though, I slid into the back of Sasuke's car and smiled at Sakura as she exclaimed a hello before turning back to Sasuke and continuing whatever story she had been telling. Based on the look on Sasuke's face I could tell he didn't care all that much about _what _Sakura was saying just that she was _speaking_. I smiled lightly at this and caught Naruto's eye. Blushing when he winked at me and turning away to look at the stars.

_"When he shall die,_  
_Take him and cut him out in little stars,_  
_And he will make the face of heaven so fine_  
_That all the world will be in love with night_  
_And pay no worship to the garish sun."_

Both Naruto and I looked at each other in surprise as we both recited the same quote at the same time. Even Sasuke and Sakura seemed interested.

"That sounds so pretty." Sakura said, both Naruto and I continued to stare at each other, holding one another's gaze.

"It's from William Shakespeare. It's a quote from Romeo and Juliet." Naruto said quietly, not tearing his dark eyes away from my lavender ones. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, more as unnerving. It was like we were staring into each others soul, no matter how cheesy that sounded, but I couldn't help but think that this was exactly what we were doing.

"Do you know another?" Sakura asked curiously and without breaking eye contact Naruto answered her.

_"The Brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp; _

_her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream_

_ so bright that birds would sing, __and think it were not night." _Naruto murmured and as Sakura turned around, he reached out a hand, and stroked my cheek, before breaking the connection and turning away. I also turned away, my cheeks warming as I thought over what just happened. It seemed as if time itself had stood still, but looking around I saw that this was not true, but instead we had stood outside the realm out time. Completely untouched by the world. If only for a moment.


	13. Knowledge is Dangerous

I would be lying if I said I wasn't completely terrified. Nothing could completely take my mind of the situation for very long and it was irritating more then anything else. I mean, come on. I had never been this antsy about the Shinobi members going out on missions before. So what was different now? I knew exactly what was different though. _Hinata._

"Gaw! This is so frustrating!" I shouted randomly, looking away from the window, where the setting sun's red light just barely peaked in. Turning around I saw Sasuke and Gaara both looking at me with amusement written all over their faces. I scowled.

"How do you guys stand this?" I cried, eyeing how calmly they sat on the couches.

"Practice." Gaara said easily, but I shook my head. Would I ever really get used to this sense of worry that everything was going to go wrong and it would be my fault for sending her out for her first mission without me?

Though, I had to admit that another part of me was feeling ridiculously proud. I had helped train her after all. These thoughts did not help much though. I continued pacing around the room while Sasuke and Gaara's eyes followed me in amusement. I was glad the other guys were either out training or with the girls. It was so much easier to be free around Sasuke and Gaara then it was to be around Kiba or Kankuro.

"Come on Naruto. Just grab a beer and sit down, try to keep your mind off of it. They'll be fine." Sasuke said finally, tired of my incessant pacing. I paused for a moment before sighing. They were right, I was being stupid about this whole thing. Hinata was going to be fine...

"I just wish I knew what was happening." I said, trailing off slightly and Sasuke snorted.

"You know what they're doing! They're spying on the Akatsuki." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes at my stupidity, but I knew that this wasn't exactly true. I had ordered them to get information, not to spy. There was a difference and quite a dangerous one.

* * *

My heart was beating so hard I was almost positive the others could heart it. How were all of them so at ease? Weren't they afraid of anything? Apparently not because they all stood, or rather crouched, with a calm reserve. Maybe it was all the pain that they had conquered that prepared them for things like this, but the abuse I had endured from my father had prepared me for anything useful. I couldn't complain though, because I could hardly wish their lives on myself or anyone really, but this was just the way it was.

Naruto had asked the girls, Shikamaru, Kiba, Kankuro, and I to go on this mission for information purposes, but before we even fully entered the Akatsuki property things went to shit. Now all of us were frozen, hidden in the bushes while the Akatsuki searched the perimeter. I had already seen many of the members of the Akatsuki. After everything I had heard about them, I half expected them all to come out with fangs and red eyes, but they looked like normal teenagers. All of them wore regular jeans and t-shirts like an every day passerby-er but they all adorned a red cloud mark somewhere on them. One of them, Jirbo- Sakura had told me- even had a tattoo of the mark.

Despite the complete normalcy though, they _terrified _me. None of them had the same sense of sad kindness that the Shinobi had. They all radiated malice and every whisper of their movement made me shiver. I had to say though, Sakon and Ukon scared me the most. Sakon and Ukon were one person as far as I could tell. There was one man who had a very pale complexion and silver hair. His lips were blue as if they were frozen and his clothing was grey. At first glance he only looked like a malnourished boy, but after watching him for as long as I had, I could tell there was so much more going on. You could see it if you just listened to him.

"Sneaky, sneaky Shinobi." the man whispered only to jerk his head randomly and speak again, but his voice was different. It was deeper and filled with much more cruelty.

"_Shut up, Sakon. You are fool who will give us all away!" _Sakon's lips moved and I twitched in confusion. The Shinobi had told me that Sakon and Ukon were twins. I glanced over at Shikamaru, but he had a finger on his lips, so I turned back to the display in front of me. The man jerked again and he pouted.

"I'm not a fool. Your the one who's being loud, Ukon." Sakon said, his bottom lip protruding. Once more his body jerked and his neck twisted before focusing again.

"_You are an annoying idiot! If only _I _had control of this damned body!" __Ukon_ hissed angrily before twitching, moving around oddly again and I involuntarily gasped. Sakon and Ukon were one person? The Ace part of my brain started to work furiously at this new information as I absorbed this new information. From what I could tell about split personality disorders there is always one person-the original- that has full control of the body, but this person is usually 'weak' and the mind puts up an extra defense to protect itself. The other personality is usually much angrier or sometimes even sadder, because the mind is repressing something, usually a memory, with the other personality. With this knowledge in mind, I determined that Sakon/Ukon could be one of the most dangerous people in the field. I bit my lip as I shook, but someone put their hand on me. I looked up to see Matsuri, smiling reassuringly at me, and I calmed down slightly. I had trained for this after all, besides if I was going to be a Shinobi, I had to let go of my fear.

In front of the bushes that we all hid behind the twins whorled around. They stared at the bushes intently and I clenched my fist. They had obviously heard my gasp from earlier. I looked over, wide eyed, at the other girls along with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Kankuro, but they showed no fear, only silent curses. Silently, they all removed a gun from where ever they keep it. For the girls, that was their hip or thigh, for the boys it was their pants. Deciding I probably would need a weapon as well, I unstrapped my own gun from my thigh and waited along with the rest of them.

"Did you hear that Ukon?" Sakon whispered as he stared at the bush in the dark intently and I watched as Sakon/Ukon rolled his pale eyes in irritation at his own words.

"_Of course I did you idiot! Check the bushes!" _Ukon hissed once more and my skin crawled. Sakon/Ukon slowly stepped towards the hedges and I did my best to ignore the horror that threatened to wash over me and swallow me whole. I waited as patiently as possible with the rest of the group. They were all dead silent, but they had peculiar expressions on their faces. Their heads were tilted to the side and I quickly realized that they were listening for something. Scrambling slightly, I tried to focus on whatever sound they were hearing, but I couldn't focus on anything but what was in front of me.

Sakon and Ukon were approaching the bushes now and were glancing all along it, through the leaves. I couldn't allow myself to breath. A part of me cursed my cowardice, but another part thought that my fear was perfectly justified...and it was if you thought about it. This was my first mission that had been solely for information purposes, yet it had quickly gone wrong when we had been caught and forced to hide in the shrubbery. I didn't feel at all prepared for any of this.

Suddenly a loud crash was heard and it was amazing that I didn't jump a food in the air, giving away our position. I quickly glanced over the few members of the Shinobi to see them all grinning wildly and I knew that this must have been what they were waiting for. Ahead of us, Sakon/Ukon had turned away from the bushes and began to run towards the front of the house where the sound of fighting could be heard. Temari touched my shoulder to gain my attention and I turned towards her. She motioned for me to wait a few moments and to watch them, which I gladly did, a little relived that there was some organization among the chaos. Must have been the Ace speaking again.

Soon, all of them started to move towards the side of the house, and I was with a sinking heart that the crush had merely been a diversion to get the creepy twins away from us. The mission was still ago and now we were breaking into their house. _Must have been what Neji was up to_, I mused briefly, before focusing on what was at hand. Around the back of the house, there was a small window, that I figured led to the basement. Appearing quite suddenly on the inside was Neji and this time I _did _jump, but luckily, I made no sound. Neji easily, and silently I might add, slid the window open and Tenten was the first to slip in. She was quickly followed by Sakura, Temari, Ino, Matsuri, and then me. Kankuro and Shikamaru insisted that because I was a girl I had to go first and though I rolled my eyes, their slight mockery did make me feel better.

The Akatsuki basement wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. I had prepared my self for so weird torture chamber or building plans hung over the walls, but honestly it was a total man cave. Beer cans were scattered around the room along with empty pizza boxes and various other garbage. I wrinkled my nose at the smell, but I couldn't help the amusement that had filled my being. Though disgust quickly filed back in when I was a bra on the couch. Well there were only _two _woman in a house with six and a half men. I guess it made sense that they were complete whores.

All of the Shinobi had spread out in search of different things. I wasn't altogether sure how productive this would be though. It wasn't like the Akatsuki wrote down all their plans or something. When I was first told about this mission I had assumed that we would be listening in on them, but apparently that wasn't the case. Maybe I could some how help. My eyes did a quick sweep of the room again before I stepped towards an open door. The rest of the Shinobi were busy shuffling through various discarded papers and left over weapons, so I headed into the room for myself.

The room was dark when I stepped in and so I went to flip on the lights. The light flickered on and off before lighting up, but the light it gave off was barely decent, giving the room a horror movie like aspect. I rolled my eyes at the lack or originality before I moved on. Once again I was disturbed by the normalcy of it. Based on the lights I had half expected to see some kind of cheesy torture chamber, but it looked like any other teenagers bedroom. The walls were painted red and had black clouds all over the wall, rather then the typical Akatsuki red clouds. The bed was covered in a black comforter with red and white pillows. To the right of me was a dark wooded (what a depressing guy) desk with a lamp, silver laptop, and a picture. I moved closer to the desk and pulled out the chair, figuring the laptop would have more information then the garbage in the rest of the basement.

Gently, I lifted up the top of the laptop, and watched nervously as the screen flickered to life. I bite my lip and quickly glanced around as the familiar "_do do do do do" _sounded, informing whoever that the computer was up and running. The picture in the background showed a red circle and black shape that briefly reminded me of something I'd see in a kaleidoscope. Looking at it, it seemed vaguely familiar to me, but something told me that if I had ever seen it I would surely remember it. Moving on, I traced my finger over the mouse pad and clicked on one of the links that were hanging out on the tool bar. A tab popped up and I leaned closer only to see that it was an image. The image showed the blue print of Konoha High School and my eyebrows scrunched together. What would the Akatsuki do with blue prints for the high school? I frowned and minimized the tab once again, trailing my finger to the next one. The next tab showed the roster of Konoha High, spiking my interest further. Apparently, the Akatsuki was interested in the high school...but why? Curiosity and frustration filled me causing me to hurry and click on the next link.

This time more pictures appeared on the screen, but these frightened me more then the blue prints had. Now on the screen, next to the photographs were descriptions, and my stomach dropped as I looked over it. The first photo showed a brown haired teenager with a cocky grin. He had red triangle tattoos on his face and was leaning easily against a chain linked fence; his right leg propped up easily against it and his arms crossed. He had obviously been posing for this photo. I scrolled down slightly and saw the boy's name: KIBA INUZUKA. Under the name was a long paragraph and after quickly skimming through it I determined it was a biography- and to my dismay- a very accurate one. Feeling slightly anxious, I scrolled down more to see more photos. A male with messy red hair, a girl with spiky blonde hair, and another boy with dark brown hair, stood holding each others arms, each adorning their own smiles: THE SABUKA CHILDREN. A tall, thin, beautiful long haired blonde girl stood laughing, giving a wink to the camera: INO YAMANAKA. The next showed a thin, gangly guy with his dark hair pulled up in a spiky ponytail; his eyes were closed as he lifted his face towards the sun: SHIKAMARU NARA. Two girls were on the screen now, both with brown hair, but one had hers pulled up in two buns while the other left hers down. Both of them stuck their tongues out at the camera: TENTEN - AND MATSURI SONNEN. A man with abnormally long hair stood, looking impatient, but his pale eyes twinkled with mischief all the same: NEJI HYUGA. The next photo made my heart leap as it showed a pink haired woman, with jade green eyes, her lips open in an 'o' showing she was confused, as she walked arm in arm with a dark, handsome, brooding guy, who held a map and another very attractive guy -blonde this time-who was looking off to the side, looking amusingly irritated. A faris wheel could be seen in the background: SAKURA HARUNO-SASUKE UCHIHA- NARUTO UZUMAKI. Anger flitted through me and I scrolled down the page, but it ended after Naruto's biography. Despite what I saw, a gave a small sigh. The Akatsuki still didn't know about me.

Something _was _still irking me though. The Akatsuki knew _everything _about all the Shinobi members and if I knew anything, I knew that knowledge was dangerous. Plus there was that student roster and the blue prints on the school. They were obviously planning something and though I didn't know what it was, I knew it was dangerous.

After staring at the screen for nearly two minutes, I minimized the tab, and went to the next- and last- one. This time what popped up was a video, that was frozen on a dark figure that was in this exact spot. It just needed me to press play. I moved my finger to click on the 'play' button, but a loud crash about me told me that the Akatuski had seen through the diversion and were now back in the house. Fear settled in my stomach and I stood up quickly, minimizing the video, and shutting the laptop. I moved towards the door, but glanced back at the laptop, unsure.

"Hinata!" I heard Sakura's urgent whisper from outside the room and I moved towards the door again, only to stop once more. With a frustrated groan I hurried back to the laptop and grabbed it. In a hurry to leave I accidentally knocked down the photo on the desk. Without thinking I turned around and lifted the photo back up, only to freeze once I caught a glimpse of it.

In the photo were two young dark haired boys; brothers. The oldest looked about fourteen, while the youngest couldn't be any older then eight. They looked very similar with dark hair and onyx eyes. They both were wearing black t-shirts and while the oldest had dark pants, the younger one had white shorts. They both were also very handsome. _Sasuke? _I thought in surprise as I stared at the photo, as the oldest looked just like him and then it hit me. Itachi! This was Itachi's room! I stared wide eyed around the room as the reality hit me. The picture was one of Itachi and Sasuke together when they were younger and the laptop had been Itachi's. That was when I grinned. If I was right and this _was _Itachi's laptop, then I had just hit the jackpot.

"Hinata! We need to _go_!" Sakura whisper yelled and I turned around, dashing from the room. Sakura stood anxiously and pulled me towards her just to push me off towards the window. I quickly stepped on a box and grabbed Neji's hand as he held it out for me. He quickly lifted me up out of the basement, glancing at the laptop quizzically before turning back to pull Sakura up.

"Guys! You'll never guess what I found!" I whispered excitedly, but Sakura shook her head.

"Not here! Come one, we'll talk about it at the Funhouse." Sakura said, rushing forward as she broke into a sprint towards the car, which was parked a couple blocks from here. Suddenly loud talking came from the house and I went wide eyed before sprinting off after Sakura and the others. Yes, I'd explain later. Surviving was much more important.

**Okay, so I'm kind of nervous to see what you guys will think about this chapter. It took a long time to write it as I wasn't quite sure how to start it and I knew that I needed to really start getting the story going other wise you guys would loose interest. So in this chapter I did my best to put a start on the action to come and hopefully I didn't royally screw it up. Another thing, I've been thinking about adding in the other character's points of view. What do you guys think? Tell me what you think! Also, have a great day. :)**


	14. Itachi's Warning

**Bit of a twist in perspective. Wonder if you can guess who this paragraph is written for?**

I didn't even bother to look up when the others returned from the mission. They would just give an ordinary report on how the didn't find anything and then I would leave the house to go for a ride on my bike where I would be free to think. Free to escape to my own world for a little. A world where I still have a family to show my girl off to, but that dream would never become reality. No matter how much I wished it would.

Without looking up, I heard everyone get up from their seats on the couch, or come up the stairs to go meet the others. I didn't know why. We all knew we were going to be disappointed. All of us had ransacked the Akatsuki hide out before and have come up short every time. I didn't understand why Naruto didn't let us just burn the place down. That way, even if they did have information, which I seriously doubted, it would all be burned to shit anyway. He wouldn't let me do it though; didn't want us stooping to their level, but would we really be stooping to their level at all? They've never burned our hideout down, no that was Kiba's job.

I leaned my head back against the back of the couch and closed my eyes. Within the walls of my own mind, I went through shooting drills. My fathers voice echoed in my thoughts, _Stop your shaking Sasuke! Steady hands, steady gaze, steady shot. Okay, now lets try it again. _I took a deep breath through my nose before letting it out, my whole body sagging with it. Suddenly, I was broken out of my thoughts by cool hands running through my hair. My lips twitched up at the corners slightly and I opened my eyes to see a upside down Sakura.

Sakura grinned at me, her beautiful green eyes sparkling lightly, her unusual pink hair falling around her face, and I reached a hand up to tough her cheek. She leaned into my palm and I smiled lightly at her. Her happy grin slipped, but didn't drop, becoming a more complex smile, it was more relaxed and much more sweet. I glanced at her lips and Sakura, ever observant, caught my gaze and leaned down. I lifted my chin up more to meet her. Our lips touched gently and we both smiled at the contact.

Sakura had always been a confusing spot for me. Bright and beautiful, I knew I was in love with her, yet I wasn't quite sure how to act. I couldn't act like how I did with Ino, when I dated her. Ino and I had been the awkward first love; wild and crazy, and not at all serious. I couldn't be like that with Sakura. We were too old now and she had seen me at my best and worst; both before and after Itachi. She knew me inside and out, which scared the hell out of me. There was no way to hide it from her. I couldn't sneak her a kiss to make her drop the more serious conversations which made everything I did with her much more _real__. _She was always going to make me say what was on my mind. There was no hiding from her and I wasn't sure I was ready for anyone but Naruto to know me like that.

Naruto knew my mind and heart as if it were his own, but that was because he's my brother. We've grown up together and trust each other. Along with that it wasn't really a choice. I was going to have to _let_ Sakura seeme, which required a thought process, and an explanation, but I couldn't explain it to her. How do you explain love anyway? Everyone experiences it differently. All I knew was that I loved her, but was that enough? Did I have the strength to tell her everything that went on in my mind?

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura whispered, her eyes half closed and I gazed at her. Maybe I wouldn't have to explain it to her. Maybe I could just show her. She was smart. No that wouldn't work. Even if she knew, which I was sure she did, she would want me to tell her. I could see it in her eyes.

"You." I told her honestly and her smile was back, just as gentle as before.

"Me?" she asked in her response and I nodded my head, continuing to look at her. I could stare at her all day, honestly and kiss her...

Just as this thought came into my mind, I tilted my head up again to kiss her once more, but she moved away. She stood and put her hands on her hips, a smile still gracing her lips. She shook her head at me, amusement clear in her features, causing frustration to be clear in mine. Sakura did that sometimes. Her own way of keeping my attention trained on her and it worked. That wasn't the only reason for it though, I always knew if she moved away that it was time to be serious.

"Not right now. Hinata found something during the mission." Sakura said and I automatically straightened myself out. Turning on the couch I glanced down the empty hall, which led to the other room. Their conversing voices flowed down the hall and met my ears. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could sense the tone's that had been added. Whatever Hinata had found was both scary and exciting.

"What is it?" I questioned curiously, standing up to follow her into the other room, but she didn't reply right away.

"She brought a laptop." Sakura replied cautiously and I frowned. That was kind of dangerous wasn't it?

"She brought a laptop? What if they notice its missing?" I asked. It would be hell if they knew we had been there.

"I don't think they will." Sakura said readily and my frown deepened. She was being much more serious now. Why?

"Why not?" I pressed and finally Sakura turned around, her eyes shinning with emotion.

"Just... you'll see." she said finally, and gestured for me to enter the room first. Glancing back at her, I entered the room to see everyone standing around a silver laptop. Looking at the laptop I felt a strange sense of forbidding. Everyone looked up as Sakura and I entered the room, but they only glanced at Sakura before they trained their gazes on to me. Feeling slightly uncomfortable I continued to move forward and eventually they all looked away and back at the screen of the laptop.

Coming around I looked at the laptops background and my heart stopped. It was an eye, but only I would know that. To anyone else it was a red circle with a black circle within it which had one red dot on the inside and three black prongs coming out of the black circle. **(You can check it out on my profile) **It was Itachi's eye. Each of the Uchiha had their own 'eye' that represented themselves as we were an eye enhancing company. Mine was the six pointed star that I had engraved on my gun. That was irrelevant though. The fact that Itachi's eye was on the screen meant that this was _his_ laptop. That explained why everyone was watching me. It wasn't time for personal matters at the moment though. If this indeed had been Itachi's laptop before his death, then it was sure to have important information. Not just about what the Akatsuki were up to, but about _him._

"So what are we looking at?" I asked, starting the discussion, seeing as it seemed no one else was going to.

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain. So I suggest you guys all look at this." Hinata said, leaning forward to move the mouse and click on one of the links. The browser popped up showing a blue print of Konoha High and I frowned.

"Why would they need a blue print of the high school?" Matsuri wondered aloud and while the others attempted to answer the question, I continued to stare at the blue prints.

Konoha High School was one of the biggest in the country with two gymnasiums, a dance studio, a band room, generic music room, multiple classrooms, the football field, the track, the baseball complex, locker sections for the Aces, Artists, Athletes, and the Specials, not to mention the auditorium, the cafeteria, teachers lounge, outside eating section, the parking lot and various bathrooms. That is also leaving out secret hallways used by the students to get around more quickly. It was extremely easy to get lost in the school. When we first entered we had joked that we had been going off to Hogwarts and now with the similarities pointed out the joke seemed much more ironic and looking at the high school printed out like this, I could understand why it might be needed.

The high school was a place the Shinobi knew pretty well, but even we occasionally were lost within it's halls. We were there everyday and sometimes more, because it was the perfect place to go if you wanted to be on familiar ground. Yet, we still didn't have the place memorized. It would be easy to sneak up on someone if you knew where you were going. The knowledge of the high school grounds was potentially invaluable.

"They're planning an attack on us from the high school." I murmured and all conversation around ceased.

"What?" Tenten asked breathlessly and I didn't turn my eyes away from the screen as I answered her.

"Think about it. The high school is huge and it would be easy to sneak up on somebody in there. If they somehow memorized these prints, they could find every possible place we might be and attack us unsuspectingly. Think of it as a game of hide and go seek tag. If they were the opposing team, they would know every possible place to hide where we couldn't find them, and also know any potential spot _we _could hide. Plus, Konoha High is a bit of a middle ground. Would any of us really expect them to attack us on our way to Calculus?" I paused and when none of them said anything I nodded my head, "Exactly."

"So you're saying that they are planning to use our own stopping ground against us in order to get at us when we're least expecting it?" Shikamaru clarified and I nodded my head again.

"Genius." Shikamaru muttered sounding somewhat impressed and I had to agree. The plan was genius, but hopefully, now that we had gotten a hold of this laptop we could finally memorize the school for ourselves and put a hole in their plans. Or maybe they hadn't memorized it yet and we had potentially ruined the whole thing for them. The latter would be the best for us.

"They would still need to know our schedules though, right? Even if they knew the school grounds better then us they would still need more information in order to utilize this, am I correct?" Naruto questioned, looking up from the plans and around at everyone.

"Well, normally you would be right, but there is something else. Something pretty scary, if you ask me." Hinata said and clicked on another link. We all watched as the next thing popped up on the screen, all nervous to what else the Akatsuki could possibly know, and when we finally focused on what the browser had on it, we knew Hinata had been right to be afraid.

On the screen there were pictures of each of us. That wasn't the worst of it though. Along with the pictures was information that should never have been known to anyone, but us. Our life stories were all right there, under each picture. My fists clenched at this. If they knew everything that meant we had no leverage. We would be incapable of surprising them. I gulped slightly, trying to hold down the fear and anger this information had brought, and jumped when a fist was slammed onto the desk. I turned my eyes away from the laptop to see Naruto shaking with rage.

"How the _hell _did they get this information?" Naruto's word were tight and controlled, a sure sign of his fury.

"I don't know." Sakura whispered and all of us were silent, letting this sink in. The silence sat for a moment longer before Kiba finally spoke up.

"They don't have anything on Hinata." Kiba noticed and all of us looked back at the screen. He was right. There wasn't even a picture.

"Well that's good right?" Ino asked looking around at us nervously, but none of us answered her. I could sense Naruto's fury ease a little though and I looked at him sympathetically. I wished Sakura wasn't on here. Actually, I wished none of us were on here, but Sakura was important to me and I'd sooner die then let someone hurt her.

"Um there's something else too." Hinata said, trying to move us forward. She did succeed in making us focus again, but I didn't think any of us were going to move on so quickly after that bomb was dropped.

"What is it?" Temari asked curiously as a video popped up on the screen and Hinata shook her head.

"I'm not sure yet. This will be my first time watching it as well." Hinata told us and the nerves in my stomach began to build up. Why would Itachi leave a video on his screen?

Suddenly two hands were on my shoulder and I looked up to see both Sakura and Naruto. They both gave me reassuring smiles, the kind that said '_I'm here for you_' and some of my nerves dispersed a little. Not enough to stop the churning, but it did make me feel braver. I watched as Hinata slowly dragged the curser to put the video on full screen before she pressed play.

_The person in the video was covered in shadows at first. There was a little bit of fumbling before Itachi Uchiha's face appeared on the screen as light washed over his features. His facial expression was serious and determined. After a few moments, Itachi cleared his throat and took in a breath before he began to speak._

_"Hello Shinobi. As you all know I am Itachi Uchiha and if you are watching this I am probably dead." Itachi paused in his words to roll his eyes at the cheesy line before he continued once more._

_"The reason I say that is because we, the Akatuski, are about to head out to the theater, where we know you will be going tonight. Obviously this means there will be a shoot out and I prey none of you get hurt. I know that probably sounds strange coming from your 'enemy'" Itachi put four fingers up as quotes when he spoke the word 'enemy' " but I think we can all agree that not everything is at it seems."_

_"Now, to get to the point. As you probably noticed, the Akatsuki has a lot of information on all of you and the high school. You are also probably wondering _why _they have all this information. That is very simple to explain. First of all, birth certificates are public record, but other then that you should probably secure school records a bit better. As for the high school. That is much more complicated to explain." Itachi paused to sigh and he rubbed his eyes. He looked very weary._

_"We got the school map from the internet. The reason the Akatsuki need the map is because they are planning on breaking in and planting bombs. You all know that the Akatsuki wants people to suffer as they feel they have, and this is how they plan on doing that. They want to blow up the high school in order to wipe everyone out. I'm sure you can imagine the kind of destruction and death that would cause. It is that destruction and pain the Akatsuki thrives on and it is important to the whole of Konoha that you stop it. The children are the future and no children means no future, but along with that is people can go crazy with grief. You all know that just as much as I do. Think of the grief the town would drown in. Besides the morals of stopping it however, you have no idea what destroying Konoha High School will do to the Fire County. Many great students emerge from that high school and if it were to be destroyed it could ruin the economy. The Fire County is essential to the rest of the Country and the collapse of it's economy could potentially send the nation into depression. That cannot happen. Now, here's how you stop it:_

_First, when you look at the map again, you will notice that there are several x's. Those signify where the bombs will be planted. Hopefully you will have found this laptop before most of them have been planted, so you can block off those areas, but if not you will need to remove the bombs. That's where things get a lot more complex. If the bombs have already been planted that means they have already been wired and timed together. The bombs will be set to go off with five minute intervals between them and will be wired so that if one of them is disconnected the rest will detonate. If you are lucky Deidera will have been drought down by the time you get this, so that will throw a hole in the plans, but that will not stall them for long. Konan is also very good with pyrotechnics. In order to stop the bombs, you will have to find every single one and cut the wire _at the same exact time _other wise they will all go off and you will be dead. There is another thing I must warn you about, however. Even if you are successful in stopping the bombs, the Akatsuki are prepared to come in shooting. If that happens you are going to be in a very tight spot as the Akatsuki are recruiting. Soon they will have enough numbers to rival the size of what used to be The Uchiha Mafia. As Sasuke is with you, I will assume you understand how dangerous that is. It is because of this that you will have to stop the bombs and recruit for yourselves. I am aware that you have many friends, but you will need many more. I suggest you get this all done before December 3rd, because that is when they plan to attack. Good luck Shinobi." Itachi stopped speaking and leaned over his laptop and stopped the streaming of the video._

All of us were frozen where we were. The information we had just received was worse then what any of us had originally thought. This had the potential to bring down the economy for God's sake! Not only that, but my brother had been murdered months ago, meaning he planted that video _months _ago. Now we only had a month to start recruiting, because it was painfully obvious that the bombs had most likely already been planted.

"Oh God." Sakura whispered, the horror clear in her voice. All of us continued to be silent for a few moments before Naruto leaned forwards towards the computer and exited out of the video. With blank eyes I continued to watch his move towards the Konoha High School map and email it to himself. After briefly checking his cell phone to make sure he got the message, he turned around, grabbed his keys and coat, and went out the door. All without a word.

"Where is he going?" Hinata whispered, but no fear showed in her eyes, only fierce determination, and I respected her for it.

"The high school. He's going to go look for those bombs." Shikamaru answered before anyone got a chance to before leaning forward and sending the blueprints to himself as well. He then turned and walked towards the same door Naruto had left through. Just before he exited though, he turned around towards us with steely brown eyes.

"Who's coming with?" he asked. At his words, Temari, Kiba with Akamaru, Neji, and Tenten all got up and followed him out the door, leaving the rest of us without as much as a goodbye.

The door shut with a click and once more we were all silent, all trapped in our own thoughts. It was obvious that we were going to need more people and the recruiting was going to have to start right away. In a sense we were lucky to have met so many people who would be willing to help, but having grown up apart of the Uchiha Mafia, I knew _exactly _how many more people we would need. Currently, the Shinobi was a group of thirteen, so in order to fulfill Itachi's requirements we were going to need at least thirty more people. Were there enough people that were willing to even hold a gun let alone shoot one?

My head started to hurt with all the thoughts whirling around in my head and I decided to take a break. I still wanted to go on my bike ride and one more day wasn't going to make much of a difference. Besides, going on a ride on my bike always helped me think. With that in mind, I stood up and grabbed my bike keys along with my leather jacket, a safety requirement given to me by Sakura. Everyone watched me walk through the back door and towards the garage where my bike was waiting for me.

My red and black Suzuki was a beautiful work of art that I enjoyed to just _look_ at it sometimes. The bike had been a gift from Naruto and Sakura for my sixteenth birthday. I remembered crying the day I got it, surprising everyone present, but they didn't understand. I had _really _wanted that bike. Sitting next to it was Sakura's pink and black Suzuki **(You can find links to what they look like on my profile)** that I had gotten her when she had decided to learn. It wasn't as beautiful as mine, in my opinion, but it was a nice bike and suited Sakura perfectly.

I walked around my bike a few times, just admiring it, before I stepped over and set myself on it. Even then, I did not immediately move. I just slipped the keys in and started it, enjoying the purr of the engine and the feeling of power that being on this bike gave me. It was because of this that I did not notice Sakura, decked out in her own white riding jacket, holding her helmet, standing right in front of me. When I did take notice of her, it did not surprise me to see her there. Ever since I taught Sakura to ride she had enjoyed it just as much as I do. I also knew that she was stressed out and coming out riding with me was the only way to relax her.

"You forgot your helmet." Sakura stated and I rolled my eyes, though I did except my helmet when she gave it to me. Being a medic, Sakura was also on about safety and though it could get annoying sometimes, I knew she was just looking out. I put the helmet on over my head and watched as Sakura did the same before starting up her bike.

Without another word we pulled out of the open garage and around the house into the road where we took off. Around me I could hear the wind and feel it wrapping around my body as I flew down the road with Sakura by my side. I glanced over at her and grinned before speeding up slightly, causing Sakura to immediately copy. I repeated this action and knew that Sakura understood what I wanted when she tried to pull ahead of me. When I saw this was when I really started flying. I sped up and raced Sakura across the road until we left town. The sky was black with white spotted stars, but the dark didn't bother me. It was only on my bike that I ever felt _free _and while racing Sakura, I let out a laugh. I knew the stress would come later along with various of problems that I would need to help fix, but for now I was going to enjoy myself along side the girl of my dreams.

**PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR NOTE!**

**Okay, so I kind of felt that the beginning of the chapter was a little bit messy, but that's just because I'm not used to writing from Sasuke's point of view. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, but like I said it was because I wasn't quite sure how I wanted everything to play out though I had a faint idea. Also I would like to announce that I am in need of some new characters to add to the story that the Shinobi will be recruiting. Therefore I am open to OCs of your creation or of regular Naruto characters that you think would be appropriate to have on the Shinobi's side. If you are wanting to send in an OC I would like you to state their name along with their story and personality so I am able to write them out as you want. If you are just sending in another Naruto character then just say the name and why you think they would be a good idea to have in the story. You can do both of these things by either messaging me or putting it in a review. Once again I would like to remind you that pictures of Sakura and Sasuke's motorcycles are on my profile if you want to check those out and otherwise this is goodbye for now. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it and have a very nice day!**


	15. Not Even A Quarter of The Pain

**Sorry it took so long. I was having serious writers block and I was also busy trying to plan out all the recruits. Speaking of which, I would like to thank everyone who sent in ideas it was all very helpful. **

**Back to Hinata.**

Sasuke and Sakura returned before Naruto and the others, which worried me greatly. It was basically guaranteed that the bombs had already been planted. What if the boys did something really stupid and tried to stop the bombs themselves and blew up themselves along with the whole school? No, I couldn't think like that, we would find away to stop the bombs and the Akatsuki. We had to.

"Hello? Fuu? It's Gaara, is Killer Bee around? We may be in need of your assistance." Gaara was currently on the phone with a gang that traveled through out the Counties, called the Jinchuuriki, a gang of seven that he and Naruto had turned down joining. Gaara had told me that there were no hard feelings between the Jinchuuriki and the Shinobi when I asked him, but I was still worried. I couldn't do much about it though, we were going to need all the help we could get. I just wished I could help with the recruiting, but I didn't know anybody that would be much help.

"Sari? Hey! I know it's been forever! How are you? Oh that's great! How am I? Not so good, that's actually why I was calling..." Matsuri was on my other side, having apparently called up an old friend based on the tone of the beginning of their conversation. It amazed me how many people the Shinobi knew. Were gang members supposed to be this well known?

"Hey Suigetsu. Put Jugo on the line would you? Yes, this is Sasuke." Sasuke's voice droned over from across the room and I giggled slightly, despite the bleakness of the situation. Apparently some relationships were better than others. The voices around the room continued around the room as calls continued to be made.

"Tayuya? Yeah, hey." Kankuro's voice was slightly awkward over the phone and it gained my curiosity quickly, "Come on babe... right sorry, Come on _Tayuya, _I know we've had issues in the past, but we could really use your help. Your right, I don't deserve your sympathy, but the rest of the gang does. _Please, _we were your family! Won't you help your family?" The desperation is Kankuro's voice was surprising and I wondered who this Tayuya girl had been to him, "Really? Thank you, Tayuya. I reall-" Kankuro stopped and stared at his phone and I knew that whoever Tayuya was, that she had hung up on him. From across the room Kankuro sighed and took a moment to be upset before he looked at the list of people and numbers and started to dial.

"What was that about?" I wondered aloud and jumped when I got an answer.

"Tayuya used to be a part of the Shinobi, but left when her brother, Kimimaro got really sick. Apparently before us, Tayuya and her brother had been apart of a gang called Sound, with three others and when they left they weren't happy, so they poisoned Kimimaro. Last we heard Kimimaro died and Tayuya was tracking down the Sound to kill them. We haven't seen her in about a year" Ino told me and I frowned. _How awful._

"So were she and Kankuro close or something?" I asked and Ino chuckled lightly.

"Her and Kankuro used to be a couple. They were together for three years before everything went down. Eighth grade to Sophomore year." Ino explained, but I was still confused.

"If they were a couple, why did she sound so hostile towards him?" at this, Ino frowned.

"Well, sophomore year, Tayuya got pregnant with Kankuro's kid. They were both really freaked out about it so Tayuya went and got an abortion without Kankuro knowing. Well, when Kankuro found out he was upset. They got into a huge fight and finally broke up. It was awful and then Kimimaro got sick and she left. Kankuro was really torn up about. I mean who could blame him? Tayuya and him had been the real think, obviously serious enough to have sex at such a young age. We all thought that they were going to grow up and get married." Ino said and I could her the pain that she held for her friend in her voice.

"So Kankuro is still really hung up on her, huh?" I asked and Ino nodded.

"Yeah he is. I wouldn't be surprised if she was too." Ino answered and we both looked over at Kankuro again as he was explaining to whoever about what was going on.

After a second I turned away, closed my eyes, and just _thought._ All the noises around me faded away as I blocked the world off and let my mind wander. I moved past the bombs, past the Shinobi as a whole, and past the drama. It was then that my thoughts settled on Naruto. In my mind he was smiling, not the big cheesy grin that sometimes appeared on his face, but a kinder, much gentler, genuine smile. His deep blue eyes were thoughtful as always and in my minds eye his shoulders were relaxed, something I had only seen when driving to Suna with him in my dads car. I had only known Naruto for about two and a half weeks, but I felt connected to him and to the rest of the shinobi.

These people were my family now and I planned on being with the rest of them for as long as possible. They saved me from my careful, closed door, life and I planned on paying them back in any and every way I knew how. So when this shoot out inevitably happened, I would be there, fighting by their sides against impossible odds, but as Naruto represented, impossible should only be pronounced as I'm Possible.

Just then the door slammed open and my eyes flew open as the room went silent. Standing in the door way was Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, Kiba with Akamaru, Tenten, and Neji all looking extremely soaked and cold. They all walked into the house, shivering and wet, cursing the rain that was pouring outside. No one knew what to say for a moment.

"Glad Sakura and I missed that on our ride." Sasuke said eventually and there was another moment of silence before we all burst out laughing.

"Congratulations." Naruto replied sarcastically before taking his jacket off and pealing his t-shirt off of him. Jokingly, many of the girls around the room started whistling and Naruto rolled his eyes along with the other boys, but I was too busy trying to fight off the blush on my face. After another moment everyone went back to their phone calls while the new comers followed Naruto's lead and stripped out of their shirts. Even Temari and Tenten removed their articles of clothing until they were walking around in spandex shorts that they always wore under their clothes and bras. I was almost shocked by the complete openness until I remembered that they had know each other before each others bodies were even interesting much less before they could even think of them as interesting.

The calls continued on around me as the rest went to go change. I lightly tapped my fingers on the table in front of me and gave a deep sigh. In all honesty, I was starting to get bored. I was the only one who was unable to do something helpful. I didn't know anybody and even before I hadn't been able to go to the school because I didn't know it as well as the others. With another sigh, I stood and headed for the training room. No one paid me any mind as I moved across the room, but it didn't matter, they were busy.

Entering the training room gave me a strange sense of control. There were so many knives to be thrown, so many arrows to be shot, so many guns to be aimed.. It was just amazing. Slowly, I walked over to the gun rack on the wall and picked up a hand gun. I inspected the weapon carefully before making deliberate movements toward the indoor shooting range. There were five racks, with bullet proof glass separating them and paper people at the end of each row. Carefully I put the ear muffs that were provided over my ears before removing the safety of my gun and taking aim.

Sasuke's voice rang clear in my head and I remained incredibly still as I aimed before shooting several bullets into the paper man. I kept shooting until I ran out of bullets causing me to pause in order to get more. I continued to shoot until my arms got sore, only then did I put the gun down. I wasn't quite sure where all the pent up anger and frustration had come from, but it was gone now. I tore off the ear muffs and turned around, my heart jumping out of my chest when I saw I was not alone. Hand flying to my chest, I closed my eyes and gasped. I stayed in that position for a few moments until my heart rate gradually slowed. When I opened my eyes I saw Naruto, fresh from the shower from the look of him, and looking extremely well tempered considering the situation at hand.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." he said his voice thick with amusement and I just nodded, enjoying the smile on his face. Naruto just watched me as I took the gun and returned it to the wall and I tried not to feel too self conscious as I felt his eyes follow me across the room.

"How are you?" I asked turning around, curious to how he was taking the whole thing.

"I'm surprisingly alright. We went to the school and Itachi was right, the bombs were there, but after looking at them we determined that there was only one wire on each that needed to be cut and as long as we do that at the same time there shouldn't be a problem, especially because there are only twelve bombs. So we will still have one more person to plan out the counter assault with the recruits we get. That's another good thing that has happened so far, actually, according to the others we are doing great on recruiting others. Of course we still need a _plan, _but for now, we're okay." Naruto finished with a light smile and I couldn't help but return it.

"So how come you all know so many people?" I ask curiously and Naruto's smile slipped into a straight line before he sighed and sat down on the bench. Cautiously I went to sit next to him and waited for a response to my question. A few minutes went by and for a moment I thought he wasn't going to respond at all, but then he sighed again and looked up at the ceiling.

"Some of us lived out on the streets for a long time Hinata." Naruto whispered still looking at the ceiling, "We made friends- and enemies- with quite a few people. Some of them actually used to be part of the gang, but they left."

"Like Tayuya?" I interrupted and Naruto nodded before continuing.

"Yes, Tayuya was one of the original until her brother died. She left for revenge despite all of our warnings, but if she has agreed to help then she has not let vengeance consume her. Though it will be hard for Kankuro seeing her. She is just one of the many people we know, however. The Jinchurriki, for example, are a gang of seven Gaara and I came across on a mission a few summers ago. Killer Bee, their leader knew knew who we are and knew all about the hatred that followed us. He explained how everyone in the Jinchurriki had gone through the same thing and offered us a place with them, but we turned it down. Unlike most gang leaders, Killer Bee wasn't angry with our choice, he understood our loyalty to the Shinobi and told us that if we ever needed the Jinchurriki to give him a call. All of this happened in a longer space of time, of course, but that's basically what happened." Naruto explained and I nodded my head, waiting for him to continue.

"Some others that we know aren't really in a gang at all. Just a couple street dwellers, but they are not to be underestimated. Sari, for example, was Matsuri's best friend from childhood. No one really knows her story, but she's just like Matsuri personality wise and I have no doubt she'll come to her aid. Suigestsu and Jugo are another story all together though." Naruto paused before going on.

"Sasuke met those two during his time on the streets. Suigestsu is a little bit eccentric, to tell you the truth, but he's strong and loyal to Sasuke. Jugo, on the other hand is a soft hearted guy with extreme anger issues. Strange combination I know, but Jugo is even more loyal to Sasuke then Suigestsu and he'll be useful in this fight. There are so many others, but those are a few of the people we know best." Naruto finished and I sat silently next to him absorbing this new information.

_There were son many people who have gone through so much_, I thought to myself. I looked back at Naruto who I was surprised to see was watching me. His face was clear of emotions, but not blank. He seemed almost tranquil. It was a nice expression to see on his face after seeing the blind fury that had been etched into his face when he had left the Funhouse earlier that evening. We both held eye contact for a long time and I lost all thought staring into his dark zaffre eyes. I soon found myself leaning in with him. He put his hand on my neck with his thumb right along my jaw line, tilting my head up towards him with half lidded eyes, but just before I was able to bring my lips to his the door opened.

Naruto moved faster then I had thought humanly possible, but I was pretty quickly myself. By the time Sasuke entered the room all the way I was back at the shooting sections leaning against the small door that lead into the hall, with Naruto seemingly examining the guns on the wall on the far side of the wall. My heart was beating incredibly quick and I lost all control over my blush, surely turning my face carmine, but Naruto was as cool as can be. He grinned happily at his best friend who looked surprised to see the two of us.

"What's up Sasuke?" Naruto asked easily and it made me wonder if I had imagined the whole thing. Sasuke looked back and forth between the to of us with a curious expression and I thought I saw a flicker of understanding before he turned back to Naruto with a crooked grin of his own.

"I just came into to tell you that I'm going out to bring a couple drinks and food back. You coming?" Sasuke's question was expectant as if he already knew the answer, but then again I suppose he did. I looked over at Naruto to see him nod.

"Sure." Naruto replied and headed for the door after Sasuke, but just before he left he shot a wink at me and I knew it hadn't all been in my head after all.

* * *

Naruto and I were too busy with planning to talk about our 'almost kiss'. Well actually, _he _was too busy planning to talk about it. I was the newest recruit with the least connections and therefor the most useless. The Shinobi kept me busy with training so intense it would make me want to cry myself to sleep if I could even think the moment my head hit the pillow. Needless to say, I was exhausted. This didn't stop me though, I was determined to be helpful during the fight with the Akatsuki.

Over the past couple of days a lot of new faces started popping up. They came from all over. There were even a few at our school that I didn't expect to see. For example, there was that one kid with the bowl cut that I had saw on my first day. Apparently his name is Rock Lee and he is an _amazing _fist fighter. When he moved it was almost in a blur and the one time I saw him fight against Naruto, who was the best fist fighter in the house, I was surprised to see that Rock Lee would have won if it wasn't for Naruto's superior experience. He wasn't the only new kid in the house either.

There was a guy name Shino, who had apparently known Kiba before the Shinobi was formed, and I would be lying if I said he didn't creep me out a little bit. He always wore sun glasses even when we were indoors and he kept his face covered. Not only that, but he seemed to have a weird fascination with bugs. Originally I hadn't seen how a kid obsessed with bugs could be very helpful, but then Kiba had explained to me the purpose behind them. Apparently Shino had some weird connection to bugs, sort of like how Kiba was connected to Akamaru, and in some strange phenomenon could get the bugs to do his bidding. It all seemed like science fiction to me, but Kiba sounded so serious about the whole conversation I decided not to voice my disbelief.

Then there was Choji, he was built like a wrestler, and I did not doubt his fighting abilities until I actually spoke to him. I already sort of knew who Choji was because Shikamaru had mentioned him in his story, but I never knew his personality. Truth was, Choji was an absolute sweet heart. I couldn't really believe he could hurt anyone. Well, that's what I did think, but then someone tried to take the last chip out of the lays bag and it was on. There was an absolute war between Temari, Naruto, Choji, and Kiba over that chip and Choji surprised me by bringing them all down swiftly and effectively with one swoop. I didn't doubt him after that.

One girl that came in was also from our school. Her name was Anko Matarashi and I was not surprised to hear that she was actually in her twenties and just kept failing senior year. I _was _surprised however, to hear that she dating Kakashi Hatake, the history teacher. While this did not surprise the others or even disturb them, I did not know what to think of it, but the more I got to knowing Anko the more it made since. Apparently she kept failing high school simply because she did not want to leave and Tsunade did not even make her go to class anymore. Anko was smart as sadistic, I learned quickly, and was undoubtedly perfect for my history/homeroom teacher. Not only that, but she was loyal and it made me proud to know that she would be fighting with us.

There were three people in the recruits that surprised the hell out of me. Moegi, Konohamaru, and Udon, no matter how brilliant, were only freshman. I wasn't exactly sure why they were there until I overheard Naruto yelling at Konohamaru for showing up. From what I could tell Naruto had known Konohamaru since he was little and did not want to put him in danger.

"I only told you about what was happening so that you could stay out of it!" Naruto had shouted, but Konohamaru had stood firm in his decision to help, acting very much like Naruto.

"I don't go back on my word bro, that's something we share" That had shut Naruto quickly and grudgingly Konohmaru, Moegi, and Udon- who had stayed quiet through the whole thing- were aloud to stay and help.

This ended up being useful though as Udon was an expert hacker along with a guy name Chojuro, who had showed up earlier. Chujuro hadn't really looked like much to me. He was scrawny and weak looking, but then I saw him with a sword- an odd weapon in a gang- if you ask me. He used the sword well though. He had held his own against Sasuke, who was not only great with guns apparently, but also very good with a katana. Sometimes I wondered if there was anything this kid couldn't do.

Despite how good Chojuro was with a sword though, Sai, another new recruit, was better. He was a perfect match to Sasuke with the sword and the only irritating thing about it, was that he wasn't humble like the rest of the man there. He was arrogant and made snarky comments all day long about how everyone's skill sucked. That was why I was not surprised when Sakura and Naruto teamed up to beat the crap out of him after a particularly bad comment about Naruto's- ehem- manhood. The whole affair left me blushing and light headed though I had nothing to blush about. Altogether Sai seemed like an okay guy though. When he wasn't being a total douche he gave good advice and got along well with Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, who had apparently known him before. Though, they seemed to know everyone.

One guy that came in surprised me by being a guy at all. His name was Haku and he was very feminine looking with long hair and a heart shaped face. I could even go so far as to say that Haku was _pretty_. He acted very feminine as well. He spoke kindly and did not compete like the other male's did, and he smiled a lot. He got a long with Naruto well and I had felt a twinge of jealousy seeing them together even though Haku was a man. The whole thing weirded me out almost as much as that guy Shino did, though he had proved him self to be an okay guy, despite the whole bug thing.

The last two males to come in were name Jugo and Suigetsu, two males that I had heard Sasuke on the phone with the other day. Jugo was even taller and stronger than Choji and was almost much kinder, though sometimes he seemed a bit unstable. I had seen him get angry only once and it was something that I would never forget in all my days of living. He scared me, but when Sasuke saw this, he approached me and explained that Jugo was harmless. He was unstable in his anger, but he had restraint and hated to hurt his friends. This did little to reassure me, but I assumed with a cold mind that it would be rather good for us if he lost control against the Akatsuki.

Suigetsu was a different matter all together. He worked with swords as well and was on par with Sai and Sasuke with his swordskill. He also had a bit of strange perverted sense of humor and got along well with Kiba, who was very similar to him in personality. I also had yet to see Suigetsu without a water bottle when he was dry and the other times he was swimming out in the pool or taking a shower. The kid apparently loved water more then he loved the opposite sex. That was what I thought, however, until I heard his story.

***flashback***

"Are you sure you are going to be able to handle going up against the Akatsuki? Against Karin?" Sasuke had asked Suigetsu in a low voice. It had been muffled behind the door of the training room and despite knowing better than to eavesdrop I had stopped to listen.

"Against the Akatsuki? Of course! They're the whole reason Karin switched sides. She always did have a soft spot for Uchiha's." Suigetsu's words were bitter and it made me wonder what Sasuke thought about this.

"She made her choice Suigetsu. You know that. Even if she did love you once, you must prepare for the worst. You know how she-" Sasuke's cold words were cut off by Suigetsu's furious whisper.

"You don't think I know that? You don't think I knew that the moment she left me behind to join the Akatsuki? Karin is strong and smart and I know she is dangerous, I know all that, but I also know all the good things about her. You can't expect me to fight her anymore than anyone could expect you to fight Sakura." There was silence to his words and my heart clenched momentarily for the two of them.

"Fine. You will not fight Karin, but do not expect to leave any information you have on her to yourself. You will tell us everything about her that can help us win. Got it?" Sasuke's voice was still as cold as the dark side of the moon, but I understood it. Sometimes hard things needed to be done.

"I know, but Sasuke. You have to promise. Promise that if you sense any good in her, any good at all, any love that she still holds in her heart for me, promise you will spare her. " Suigetsu's voice was filled with desperation now and it made my heart ache for him. How awful it must be to love someone who will not love you back and then be forced to fight them. How despicable.

"I promise." Sasuke's voice was clear and at regular volume, but mine was quiet and no one heard it. I promised anyway though.

***flashback over***

That conversation had stuck with me and it left me unable to be so quick to judge as I was before. So I met the other recruits with a more open mind. Some though, were just plain strange. Maybe it was because the rest of the recruits so far were women, but all I knew was that they were particularly peculiar to me. Moegi and Anko had already arrived in the house so I knew not to expect completely normal people, but I still did not know what to expect.

Sari was the first person I met of the female recruits. Matsuri had screamed so loudly I feared for all of our ears. Sari was a very hyper, happy, zealous girl much like Matsuri, but without any of the occasional calmness that Matsuri had. Temari had explained that this was because Sari did not have someone like Gaara to calm her down like Matsuri did and so she was left unchained by any restraint. She fought well though. She was quick and precise with her hits, though they did not hold the power that the men or Sakura had. Sari _did _fight with a dagger, however, and when she hit she always managed to get a few good stabs in as well.

Isaribi was another girl who had come in. When I first saw her, she was startlingly beautiful, but then when I looked upon her fully, I noticed the burns and scars. The damage was mostly on the left side of her face and is well covered with bandages which is why I did not notice them right away, but they were not as completely hidden as I assume Isaribi would have like. Despite this, I found that Isaribi was very sweet and also very in love with Naruto. I was not jealous though, I could tell that Naruto saw her as a sister, but I did feel sad for Isaribi. She was too kind and loving to not like.

Karui was a different matter all together though. She was loud and bossy with a strong attitude problem. In a way though, she reminded me of Sakura. There was intelligence in her eyes, but also a fierceness that you did not see much within girls. She used a sword as well, but her style was too different to put against the other males who practiced with a sword. You could not compare something that was not at all similar. From what I could tell about Karui, she was more competitive than almost anyone there, and had apparently gotten here so fast because she had been racing a guy named Omoi, who had _not _shown up yet. She had burst into the house without knocking asking if he was there before growing very smug after finding he was not. Her personality made me giggle sometimes.

As of late those were the only ones to have come so far, which surprised me. I had expected far more people to come to our aid and when I asked Sakura about it she told me that more were coming to help.

"Some of out friends don't live near Konoha so they have to travel a long way to get here. Not only that though, but they have to be very careful. So far we have been able to stay out of the cop's way, but when all of us gang members assemble the police aren't going to like it very much." She explained.

I wasn't sure why the thought of the police had never occurred to me. Of course they would be on the look out for gang activity. It made me wonder how no one had gotten caught yet. Though, I have quickly learned not to underestimate the Shinobi or there friends. I was curious though. Who else could be coming? I knew that the Shinobi were awaiting the arrival of the Jinchurikki, but why were they such a big help? Who were they? What made all these people join gangs and fight? Was there really so much pain in the world? But even as these questions came to mind I knew that there was more pain than I could ever imagine. I had not even seen a quarter of the pain that haunted the world and yet I had felt enough to connect me to the Shinobi. What else could the others have possibly felt?

A part of me thirsted to find the answer. The other part was not sure if I wanted to find out at all.

**Hello again friends! The recruits listed are not all the ones that there will be. After all, not all the recruits can show up in one quick session. Not only would that be boring, but it would cause me to leave out quite a bit of information about the different character's backgrounds. So just know, that the people listed are not the only people who have been recruited, they are just the only ones who have shown up so far. Thank you! Have a nice day and thank you for reading!**


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